Little Chum

We've Moved

2010-02-05T18:47:00.000-08:00

Whoops, I thought this was posted AGES ago but sadly, I left in draft form. I have moved the show to www.islamama.com. Basically because I got sick of blogger. Plus needed a change. Come visit!

One

2009-12-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

Jarah has had one official year around the sun, and I as a mama.

We have had great highs...standing on mountains in montana, watching the sun disappear behind the ocean, quiet morning cuddles, hugs and kisses, belly laughs, stamped passports

and the occasional low...ridiculous lack of sleep (months of getting less than 5 hours a night), separation anxieties, grumpy days, hot long frustrating days where I've understood clearly how some people drink at 9am

But we've gotten through it warts and all...with a kind of bewildered optimism and a healthy dose of humour

Here's to the next year going round!

Bloggy Vacation

2009-11-10T23:54:00.001-08:00

so it's a bit rich to say i'm going to take a blogging vacation when i am a pretty intermittent blogger at the best of times. i have a one year old (pictures will go up this week though i promise), a master's that is THIS close to handing in, and a harebrained idea to take part in National Novel Writing Month where I am currently 12,306 words into my 50,000 word novel due November 3rd at midnight.

so i need to use my time wisely and conservatively. but i have been (in typical fashion) dreaming up some fun ideas for this space which i hope to start putting into motion mid-December. Until then I will be here, but sometimes. So please don't get annoyed if I am not here much, like Arnold the Governator, I VILL BE BACK.

Resonating with this today...

2009-11-06T23:11:00.001-08:00

“Most people don’t recognize opportunity when it comes, because it’s usually dressed in overalls and looks a lot like work.” ~Thomas Edison

What's Hot, What's Not Wednesday

2009-11-04T23:38:00.000-08:00

What's Hot

Hanalei: Currently up on Kauai's stupendous (yes, stupendous) North Shore for two nights in a little flat in Hanalei. It's rained that whole time and even that's hot. We counted 16 waterfalls today, collected pocketfuls of (free!) butter avocados and now are vicariously grooving to the surf guitar rock emanating from the bar down the street. Yeah for STAYcations (vacationing in our own backyard).

Kolea Cabin: Our STAYcation kicked off last weekend with a trip up to Kokee. Some friends didn't finish a reservation they had so we scored the weekend in the snugly Kolea Cabin complete with a woodfire, nights in sleeping bags and sock wearing. Shoots, I felt like I was living in a temperate climate again. Even roasted a marshmallow for heaven's sakes.

Vampires: Chum was a blood-thirty succubus for Halloween and was cute enough to raise the dead (I know, gag-o-mom alert).

3572: Words I've logged so far for NaNoWriMo.

Thesis: Hearing back from my supervisor and only having to make some easy formatting corrections, almost there!

What's Not Hot:

Sneaky Evangelicals: (Disclaimer: I am pro-God/Great Spirit so don't infer I have some sort of religious hater thing going on please!) We took Jarah to what was billed as a Halloween Puppet Show at a local theater.
Problem 1: No Halloween Story Lines in sight, I was picturing friendly pumpkins, maybe a friendly ghost or two.
Problem 2: The puppets only wanted to sing "Don't be ashamed of the Gospel," (I wasn't??), and get us to go to their wackadoo church which was advertised about 35 times in first 3 minutes. I think we lasted >5 minutes before bailing out the side door and blinking in the daylight wondering "What the $*(& was that?"

Procrastinating my writing: So got to go log 1,665 words asap.

What's Hot, What's Not Wednesday

2009-10-28T23:56:00.000-07:00

What's Hot

Chum's most favorite words: nana (food), uh-oh (anything dropped on floor, he is way into throwing stuff on ground), dada (apparently covers daddy AND mama)

Kokee State Park: Getting ready to spend tomorrow night up at 5,000 feet...super exciting when we spend most days at around 10ft above sea level. Bring on the wool socks and beanies.

Beets: Made great chum-approved beet dip tonight

Libraries: Time to make Gramma Holmes happy, chum is now well and truly into the library. Or at least the kids at the library, made 4 wee pals today and mama traded numbers with one family for future play dates.

What's Not Hot

Sprains: I spent this morning in ER for bad foot sprain. Jumped outta bad at around 1am last night to a phantom chum cry and jammed foot into dresser. Seriously, think that whole episode was more painful than the c-section. Yowza.

Food Fights: Chum loves to throw breakfast, lunch and dinner onto ground. Uh-oh says Chum while (insert Mama tooth grinding here).

Hot Dogs: For some reason we ate hot dogs yesterday. Why God. I think we were tired, hot and somehow deluded they would be delicious. Which they were most assuredly not.

Square Eyes

2009-10-22T22:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the lovely Miss Maddie who captured this dubious shot sometime during the early morning hours she and my sister Auntie Bridget were supposed to be babysitting. I pictured Chum getting lovingly nurtured with some organic oats, a light massage and perhaps a walk around the block. Instead I now have disturbing evidence that The Real World, Rock of Love and The Game Show Network were more the order of the day.

Just kidding ya guys, look at the love (and family resemblance) of these two soul mates...

Jarah and his best mate Bridgy.

Speaking of Bridget, we just booked out tickets to Arizona, the annual Taddonio family (and our own tiny Taddonio-Holmes Southwest adventure to Utah and/or Southern Sonaran Desert) will commence on lucky 13, December 13th. Bring on the cactus, the mojitos and killer sunsets...

What's that...ah, the heat of the evening is breaking as rain starts to fall on the banana trees outside. Lovely.

What's Hot, What's Not Wednesday

2009-10-21T00:51:00.000-07:00

What's Hot

A'o (Newell's Shearwaters). It's fallout season for the birds Nick studies, which means the young chicks leaving their burrows high up on the mountains are ending up confused by the light, and subsequently crash onto the ground where they are easy prey for cats, dogs or car strikes. Today was the Shearwater release, this (now annual) event is where some of the fallen birds who have been rehabilitated get released by local school children with a Hawaiian blessing for their future. We watched 6 of these endangered chicks successfully release from Lydgate Beach park this morning. A Chum approved event, he lifted his hand and hooted after each one took flight.

Pumpkin Bread. A pal in California sent us a lovely fall care package complete with the most freaking-delicious-cinnamon-spice-pumpkin bread mix in the whole entire world. We baked it for dinner two nights ago and I think it lasted less than 12 hours before being reduced to a crumby pile.

Teeth. Chum is finally sprouting a wee upper tooth.

Running. Chum doesn't walk, he runs. It is a haphazard, face-planting exercise executed with great gusto many times a day.

Hair cuts. Nick's mullet is gone...hurray.

What's Not Hot

Orange seeds on the carpet. Choking hazard dad!

Furloughs. State government now laying off more people, grrr.

Sleep deprivation. Spending many late nights up this week. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...

Belated! What's Hot, What's Not Wednesday

2009-10-15T11:21:00.001-07:00

So it's Thursday...ah well.

What's Hot

Cornsilk Locks (loving Chum's hair texture)

Banana-Kale Smoothies

Watching frigate birds fishing

Fennel filled tomato sauces

The color of the sky around 6am

Skype

Daydreaming about when to use my birthday spa certificate

Looking at real estate

What's Not Hot

Chum's new wake up time of 5.45am

Chum's new 1.5 hour time it takes him to fall asleep at night

Power bills

Geico Car Insurance refusing to cover us renting a VW camper van for planned vacation to Big Island, stating it's a cargo utility vehicle not a passenger van

Looking at real estate that smells like dog pee

Need to Hug a Tree

2009-10-13T00:47:00.000-07:00

There is a tiny leaf from the ohia lehua laying in a coffee stain next to my laptop. Pretty nice image that encapsulates the last few days. Daddy and Chum went with our pal Jeff "boysin" into the Alakai today, even did a little off-roading up Kawaikoi Stream...while Mama stayed home getting square eyes looking for wayward commas and naughty semi-colons. I'd rather have been here:

Besides forest walking and river stomping, I am ready to break out the long (it's Hawaii so no wooly sweaters and socks) skirts and start looking ahead to the upcoming holidays, need to make Chum some Yoda ears for Halloween. Also feeling some odd yearning excitement for a Thanksgiving feast (I have never tried to roast a turkey and am feeling the bravery that comes from an event more than a month away) and maybe a Solstice celebration.

Just added Celebrating the Great Mother and Seven Times the Sun ro my Amazon wishlist.

Farmers market today, glad it's finally starting to become routine. Nick and Chum have an important job to do, find Mama her favorite spicy argula. Mmmmmmm

A Week of Wonders

2009-10-12T11:30:00.001-07:00

I've given this blog posting a hopeful title to reflect my hopeful mood about finishing my Masters by Friday.

Nick is taking a turn being a full-time Dad for the week (thank you Family Leave Act!) and he and Jarah are currently planning their many hikes and cooking adventures together (hello Sweet Chile Noodles, we've missed you at our table!)

So wish us all luck...forMama imitating Mozart at the computer, Daddy with the diapers changes and nap time cuddles and Chum with patience to put up with his mad parents.

Top 10 Things I'm Wondering About This Morning...

2009-10-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

Why does Chum prefer to breastfeed standing up?

Can the neighbors hear me sing the "Wash the Dishes" (a song I made up to entertain him during this otherwise most mundane activity) song

How much, if anything, will we get pre-approved for today at our big mortgage meeting?

Should I shower before this big meeting, or will my shower last night suffice?

Why did I not get out the pots and pans for Chum before?

Did we want to rent a VW camper van for our holiday on Big Island?

Can we afford to rent a VW camper van, or should we just pack a cardboard box?

Should we have a big birthday blow out for Jarah or a nice, tiny family-only one?

Think I can convince my husband to venture into kitchen and make dinner?

Am I going to be able to get into office today and catch up on everything I am falling behind on by being a 95% stay at home mum and a 100% full time student?

Bonus Wondering: Can I spread Chum on some toast and eat him for morning tea please?

What's Hot, What's Not Wednesday

2009-10-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

One of the blogs I love to occasionally stop in and check out is Loobylu, a delightful nook in the webworld written by a sister of one of Nick's old Charles Sturt mates. She's started a "What's Hot, What's Not" column every Wednesday and I am down with the concept...

WHAT'S HOT:

Grandparents
Jarah's grandparents (and spectacular) Liz Aunty spent the last 6 weeks taking turns visiting from Melbourne to watch Jarah while I finish my M.A thesis in Community Development. This gave Chum super special time to connect with Gramma and Grandad, and saved us from resorting to childcare or hard drugs. Mahalo, thank you, gracias...a million times over Dave & Helen!!!

Each Peach, Pear, Plum
Jarah's current hands down favorite activity is reading this little rhyming book (that his Mama loved as a wee one too!). I only have to say "Each Peach, Pear, Plum" and he starts to squeal.

Hikes
We are loving the family hikes in our household lately. The Grandparents Holmes brought out a swanky Macpac hiking backpack and our little buddy can't get enough of it. Chum likes the wind on his face, the jungley bush, and don't forget the all-important hiking snack.

Mama and Chum at Mahaulepu

Poppa and Jarah on Pihea Trail in Kokee State Park (and yeah...about Nick's hair of late...)

The "No-Cry" Sleep Solution

Planning a vacation to Big Island and Maui (haven't bought the tickets, made a single plan and are aiming to fly out in about 10 days, woo hoo to last minute)

Spicy argula and buttery avocados at Kalaheo Farmers Markets

Chum learning to stand better every day

Breakfast for dinner

Sons of Anarchy & House (two current t.v addictions)

Getting ready to hand in my thesis!!!

WHAT'S NOT HOT:

Our kitchen floor which desperately needs a good mop

The pile of laundry waiting to be sorted

60% humidity and no trade winds

Video games on I-Touch (I am going to break Nick's soon)

Buying a hand of bananas that refuse to ripen

Chum's prickly heat rash

Changing Winds

2009-10-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

The winds are up again...feels slightly, just slightly cooler. Finally drying off our sweat-drenched top lips and making it possible to put on clothing around the house again. A welcome relief to hear the autumn rain dancing on the roof and the windows rattle in the night.

Change is in the air! Yahoooo!

Photo Evidence

2009-10-01T16:50:00.001-07:00

So while Chum has yet to replicate his weekend steps, here is the evidence captured by Grandad Holmes!

Special time with Daddy at Hanalei Bay...

Loving Salt Pond's baby beach

Chum is a little water baby, while the big waves make him nervous, there is nothing better for him in the world than a handful of wet sand in the shallows. I love this beach bum with his fat little guava opu (belly) so, so much

A Stand Up Kinda Guy

2009-09-28T13:49:00.000-07:00

This just in...Chum is now vertical! He decided to spend Sunday morning learning to stand on his own two tiny feet down at Salt Pond Beach Park. Later that afternoon, his Poppa was snacking on some chippies up at Hanalei Bay (his shoulder is still injured so he had to make due with watching the big surf) and Chum was intrigued. He stood and hooted, chumspeak for "Man, those look pretty good, pass 'em here Pops." Nick jiggled the bag and suddenly Chum took off lurching one!two!three!four!five!six!!!! steps.

Then he didn't get a chip. To make matters worse, we were cheering. I think Chum felt quite offended so out popped the notorious bottom lip and there were more than six tears.

Oh Chum. We are so proud of you. Sorry we won't feed you potato chips yet (or Mountain Dew ever!), but we really do love you...

Poi Boi

2009-09-26T14:56:00.001-07:00

Jarah's all-time, guaranteed to please, meal of choice is poi, hands down. And not just any poi, but Hanalei Poi:

This pasty Hawaiian staple made from the kalo(taro) plant is a superfood. A fat-free, high-fiber, low-sodium, gluten-free source of vitamin B, calcium and phosphorus filled treat. It sustained the Polynesians who took taro to the islands centuries ago, and now our little chum.

Heading off this afternoon to the Kauai Pow wow. A pow wow on Kauai? Never been and intrigued...

On a developmental milestone front, Chum stood today for eight, count 'em 8!!, seconds. We are so stoked (and a little nervous) for him to begin his vertical adventures.

New Tooth or Demonic Possession?

2009-09-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

Chum is currently acting as if he's been possessed by one of Satan's imps. In between his guttural groaning (a la Regan from "The Exorcist"), red faced howling and the current transformation of our once quiet home into an inferno of despair...I'm curious. Either he's about to get another tooth (has a recently sprouted new lumpy, bump on his lower gum) or take us all on a jolly good tour into the 3rd Circle of Hell.

Stay tuned folks!

Chum Eastwood

2009-09-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

The little guy has developed some real personality in the last three weeks. He and Easter now have something in common, both full of ham!

His favorite trick at the moment is to squint his eyes, to which he bursts out chuckling at the hilariousness of himself. Kind of a Clint Eastwood on laughing gas or a couple of coronas.

Still has not managed to sleep a night...or even half a night. If I don't blog as much as I should, suffice it to say I also don't do laundry, exercise, bake or even cut my toenails as much as I should. It's a miracle I get out of my pajamas at all.

1 more month until I am a "Master of the Universe." Move over He-Man. Then some day I'll smoke a scholarly pipe, wear a tweed jacket and regale Chum about the smashing afternoons we had where he napped 3-4 minutes during which I managed to type out a whole chapter on collective identity while cooking dinner with my left toe.

End of an era

2009-08-20T15:18:00.000-07:00

Chum woke up hungry sometime around 4.30a.m. this morning, I remember the stars were still out in force and there was no hint of the sun in the eastern skies.

I brought him to bed for an early morning nurse. Now that I don't get up during the night to feed him (instead still enduring his 1am wake up call), the early morning nurse has seemed a good compromise. He gets a full belly, we both get to snooze until a more reasonable hour.

This morning I woke up in the still dark to a crash. That crash being Chum toppling out of bed and onto the floor. He was totally fine, just obviously angry about the sudden change in location. I on the other hand was not. Where were my supposedly razor sharp mothering instincts?

I still want to puke when I think about it.

So no more early morning snuggles in bed Chum. I have no idea what to do next...perhaps it's go feed him on the living room couch while trying to write my master's with one hand or watch early morning news shows. I may end up with a rise time of 5am now but at least I don't have to encourage Chum into a career in base jumping just yet.

...shudders

On the day you were born...

2009-08-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

Little Chum turned nine months old last week. These day he looks so different from this tiny, wiggly creature except for those nostrils. TThe first thing I thought when I looked at him was "so he's got his daddy's shnoz."

There's a challenge for you Chum, can your nose can hold as many dice as your poppa?

Thanks for the video Dad! (aka Grandpa "Uncle" John).

Wait it just keeps getting better...

2009-08-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

Time Machine

2009-08-11T18:58:00.001-07:00

Jarah in year 2028.

What's This?

2009-08-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

Click here and get a sense of my current mood.

Chum woke up twice last night, cried and chatted to himself in his crib for >2 minutes each time and then knocked off ON HIS OWN back to sleep. He didn't get up for real until about 5am.

I feel like I just discovered Christmas. Even the impending Tropical Storm Felicia can't dampen this good mood.

A Cold, A Date, A Lack of Sleep

2009-08-09T01:48:00.000-07:00

We have been in the middle of a heat wave here on west Kauai. Somehow in between the sweating, the ice dripping, the dreaming of snow and the drinking of water a nasty cold has struck Little Chum and his Momma and Poppa. We (the Momma and Poppa) went out tonight for our THIRD date of the past 9 months....to a function at my work. It was over the top beautiful, the Garden lit up in the dark, people gusssied up, tango under a full mango moon...but we sniffled in the corner clutching a cup of champagne in one hand and a mug of peppermint tea in the other. The clock struck nine and we looked at each other, "Want to go?" "Only if you do." "I'm exhausted, let's go." "Thank God."

Part of our lameness is a direct result of Chum's insistence on waking between the hours of 2 and 5. Why he does this seems mixed up in theories ranging from separation anxiety, to left over birth trauma to demonic possession. For my part, I know that the other night I had a sinus headache, was singing a lullaby, Chum was imitating a prisoner being drawn and quartered from his crib and next thing I know I was convinced I had entered Dante's Inferno. Blazed past the babies in purgatory, the thieves and murders and headed straight to the inner sanctum where Judas and maybe Brutus were hanging out playing cards. I was in agony.

Then somehow it was dawn. The sky was a light gray. The roosters were greeting each other joyfully. And Chum sat up in his crib with an extra wide smile looking like he'd just gotten back from an all-inclusive resort stay in Baja and suddenly...all was forgiven.

Will he get the shakes?

2009-08-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

I'm a little worried about weaning. We're 3 months shy of a year hereabouts and to say chum has a milky addiction is putting it mildly. he loves him some milk with the passion Dracula feels for a shapely neck, Kim Jong-il feels for 80's action movies and my husband feels for sleep.

Hence I'm thinking of not weaning at the 1 year mark. However, if I wait for him to self-wean will I have a kindergartner becoming a social pariah when he packs me for school lunch?

Developing...

Feeling Bad

2009-07-27T16:25:00.000-07:00

This morning Chumlet was playing happily with a baby cowboy boot in his crib while I was getting some laundry done. I heard him squealing and giggling to himself and watched him secretly from the door. Then I jumped in and yelled "Boo" to which he jumped out of his skin, crawled frantically around the crib, stuck his lip into Southern China and then let out a slow and painfully drawn out, "waaaaaaaaaah."

I felt so terrible. Note to self: Do not scare the baby.

Flathead Lake

2009-07-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

My great pal Libby just sent me some great snaps of my favorite afternoon while in Montana (beside the wedding of Cherlyn and Paul of course). We went over to their cabin on Flathead Lake, my favoritest place in the whole universe. Chum got to meet her chum almost exactly one year older. So great to watch our boys interact together and I left really wishing we lived closer! She's an amazing mama...

Jarah is so used to beaching it up naked he found the idea of the life jacket (we boated across the lake for a 4th of July party) totally confronting, is it wrong to think he is almost at his cutest when he cries?

Yo Ho, Yo Ho

2009-07-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Pirates of Polihale swashbukled their way to the Mana plains this Saturday night. Grog, cannon wrestling and swordplay were the order o' the night. Avast me hearties, the Dread Pirate Jarah was in attendance joined by ND Plankmonkey and LM Callypso. Dastardly merriment was had by all scallywags present...

First time we took Chum to a party out late. He was cool with it, got to hang with the belly dancarrrrrs

Seemingly Innocent

2009-07-15T15:11:00.001-07:00

Behind this innocent gorgeous face (thanks for the pic Maddy!) is a harbinger of doom...

Jarah and I were both exposed to a very rotten flu strain on the mainland and we are now doing are best to spread it among all close friends and family. My sister has been praying to the porcelain god since about 6 hours after we touched down. My brother and his girlfriend are holed up in Arizona in 115 degree heat and my dad is currently collapsed in an apartment in Chicago. Who will be next?

Sorry everyone! But we're cute, no?

Great Times in the Great Lakes State

2009-07-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

Home again, home again. Jarah has returned to Kauai with two shiny teeth, more hair, mad crawling skills, and an appreciation for U of M football...Go Blue!

All the better to bite you with

2009-06-10T00:39:00.000-07:00

This just in...

a tooth has been spotted just on the horizon of the lower gum, a bit like a north atlantic iceberg circa 1912, hope it's not as dangerous! Otherwise breastfeeding is going to require some gritting of Mama's teeth from here on out.

Stay tuned for pics of the first confirmed sightings (Chum's a little sensitive about this new development)

Q & A with Little Chum

2009-05-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

(Little Chum gave the following responses to some FAQ)

Q. How do you get your eyes to stay open so wide?
A: Duct tape and the traces of my mom's morning coffee in my milk supply

Q: Are you the cutest baby in the whole world?
A: Yeah, probably (shrugs nonchalantly). Actually, Auntie Megan keeps calling me Benjamin Button. I'll go pee on one of her shoes later.

Q: Do you sleep through the night?
A: (chuckles) Hells no, party at my crib tonight, 11.30pm and post-part at 2.30am.

Q: Are you always so happy.
A: Definitely not. For example, right at this moment I want to set about dismantling my dad's camera and my mom is trying to make me play with a piece of overpriced organic wood she bought at some hippie grocery store.

Q: What country do you like better, U.S.A or Australia?
A: Depends on what grandparent set I'm wooing at the moment.

Q: Best thing about being a baby?
A: Grabbing the ladies boobs with impunity.

Q: Best thing about growing up on Kauai?
A: The roosters (chuckles, shaking head) oh, man I love those rooster.

Happiness is...

2009-05-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

A naked baby dribbling gummed up banana juice all over his belly roll(s)

Having this conversation just after bath:

Chum: Dadda Dadda Dadda

Mama: Mama

Chum: (chuckles) Daaaaaaaadi Daaaaaaaad

Watching Chum lose his marbles at Salt Pond beach yesterday when he really noticed a rooster for the first time.

No Time? Timeout!

2009-05-12T01:30:00.000-07:00

Pics from Australia trip are still coming! Something is not working in my computer. That mysterious organ where things are inserted to download. Hmmm. No time to try to fix it. I feel like the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland during the Unbirthday Party, "No time! No time!" We have been running around (or in my case typing around) like mad and I am often needing to stop and call a timeout. As in:

Timeout! Little Chum has rejected rice cereal, sweet potatoes but is a tiny bit fond of bananas. Wow...

Timeout! Little Chum just chuckled when I put his feet in the sand...

Timeout! Little Chum just woke up and rolled over putting himself back to sleep...

Timeout! Little Chum's blond wisps are getting longer and softer...

Timeout! Little Chum loves wearing his red sunglasses and looks like a mini-mogul/movie star in them...

Timeout! Little Chum turned 6 months old this weekend and I'm not going to let all these tiny perfect moment slip away so I guess I'll just work on this school project late at night. It's worth it.

Looking back on my life I'm going to be glad I gave him a couple of raspberries on his belly rather than bite my nails over the exactly perfect methodology.

Sleep Wars: Little Chum Strikes Back

2009-05-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful, fantastic, amazing time in Australia and I'll blog about the trip w/ pictures this weekend (if the stars align...)

Trying to figure out what to do with Baby J at the moment with regard to the zzzzzz's.

He seems to be all about the "A's" as in "AWAKE" zzzzzz's, not so much.

Tried to get him to nap on his own today. Holy hell. I expected some tears, some of the famous temper, but i didn't expect a 4 hour combat that left me feeling like I was in the trenches somewhere along the western front circa 1916.

I have rested my battle weary bones down next to my (lightly snoozing) darling baby. finally nursed him on the play mat in the living room, with pacifier and his friend monkey. The four hours of crying, playing, laughing, whining, starting, grizzling and smiling tuckered him out and he drifted away blissfully....only to start himself awake 5 minutes later.

Now I'm sitting next to him and rub his back with a friendly "shhhh" every time he does it, 2X over last 20 minutes.

Sigh. My parenting powers are feeling a bit depleted. I am rather disappointed in myself. Hoping i will regain my jedi powers for a happy ending...

A Little Smiley Something...

2009-04-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

A little something that made me smile today...

Chummer was at his baby massage class (yes. he lives in hawaii and attends baby massage classes. he is living the baby dream) and his mate Piko was rolling around beside him. Piko is a handsome boy born 5 days before Chum out at same small country hospital. Jarah reached over and grabbed Piko by the hand and smiled like "Hey, I like you."

Piko responded by trying to nurse Chum's head.

Oh how I love the sweetie ways of tiny boys.

Restored

2009-03-31T23:58:00.001-07:00

A few days ago I was driving through nearby town and saw new yoga studio. I was all "whoa there pardner....this is south/wesside not airy-fairy tofu eatin' north shore." Then had deep sigh of relief down to my chai-drinking, vegan casserole loving, om chanting toes. Finally for once, the mountain has come to Muhammad!

So I signed myself up for Restorative Yoga on Tuesday nights. Short lived as we're off to Australia in a few days, but making it part of my regularly scheduled programming upon my return. It was bliss. My lower back was sore in ways I was not even remotely aware of.

On drive back the rain was falling lightly on the windshield, tradewinds were whipping the trees, jazz was coming over the local community radio station, i actually remembered to fill my water bottle for once and then....phone rings. It was Nick. He sounded...defeated.

"Are you...uh, heading back?"

"Yup"

"If Jarah freaking out was on scale of 1-10 he'd be at a 10. It's been over 20min"

Pulled into driveway to hear little guy screaming his guts out for all he's worth. I scooped him up, he got a whiff of mama milk and calmed right down. Thank god for mammaries.

That or my restored, zenified spirit

Sleep Wars: A New Hope

2009-03-29T23:54:00.000-07:00

Jarah and my lactating body parts are "breast friends" (bad pun intended). I have not minded having an opihi (that's a limpet for all your non-Hawaiian residents out there) baby who needed frequent feeding to find his place of zen. However, his poor tummy seems to suffer under his appetite. I've watched his poos with the careful attention only a first-time mom can have and noticed the more he eats, the stranger the consistency gets.

I won't delve as deep into the color and consistency of baby poo as I'd like...because I'd like you all to keep reading. Let's just suffice it to say that too much frequent snacking (like once and hour) results in a less than optimum digestion situation. So I'm trying to space the feedings out a bit. Every time he head butts my chest I try to use some wily redirection. "Look at the fan." "Let's sing 'The Little Mosquito" song, "Aloha! (the word cracks him up)," "Look there's you're reflection in the mirror."

It has been working. Imperfectly, but working.

Except for night. He would go happily for over an hour if I let him. Take it away and peril. I'm sure the neighbors hate us after 7pm. So tonight I nursed him until he seemed full. Good and full. Milk dribbling down his chin and belly taut full. Then I sang. I sang until my singer was sore. Than I went to Pandora Radio and played Enya. He hated it. Sorry New Age. I played him Ben Harper. He liked it. Yeah for hippies! I played him Ladysmith Black Mambazo. He cried. Sorry Africa. I played him nature music sent to chants and flutes. He fell asleep.

Perhaps he is still New Age. He is a Kauai baby after all. It's only a matter of time until he starts practising Hatha Yoga, packing vegan lunches for school and engaging in non-violent communication. That or wearing camo and hunting pigs.

Let's just hope New Age music is worth it and the Empire Doesn't Strike Back tomorrow night.

a stand up kinda guy...

2009-03-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

Baby Beluga

2009-03-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

Why I'm not Going to be Nominated for "Mother of the Year"

2009-02-27T12:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry Chumlet. Sorry for clipping your nails yesterday and accidentally giving you a bloody thumb. Sorry for hearing you fret last night and thinking "C'mon on get back to sleep" and shoving the soother into your mouth rather than check out the problem. Which was that you were soaking wet, wet through two sleepsacks and a blanket.

Feeling guilty!

Mama's Little Goofball

2009-02-26T17:41:00.000-08:00

I love this picture of Little Chum with his goofy grin. I don't see this particular smile very often and totally love it.

Whoa, February has been a wacky month! We moved house, I started work, I decided to leave work (end fulltime work tomorrow and return somehow reincarnated as an independent contractor), i was readmitted into my masters program, my husband left to go to japan, my baby decided to forgo taking naps for the foreseeable future, and...

i have lost my train of thought. so here's to hoping march comes in like a lamb, and out like a lamb too for that matter. a nice placid lamb frolicking in the spring air.

New Home Again, New Home Again

2009-02-01T22:50:00.000-08:00

Moving house is never that fun. It's less fun with a baby who enjoys having a semblance of a routine. Or at least a nice chunk of nudie time in the morning followed by a couple hours of intermittant cuddles. Parents stuffing boxes, cleaning, and dragging around furniture doesn't really fit well into that type of schedule.

But at long last here we are. A new home. No pics yet as I have no idea where my shampoo is let alone camera. But I do have a desk. And a plan. Trying to work from home as much as possible. Nick and I have made a commitment to not send Jarah to daycare for his first year. This is not a commitment that I plan on taking lightly. The odd sitter for a couple of hours is fine. I really don't know how the year is going to play out. But I steadfastly refuse to work to pay someone else to raise my child.

I don't mean to sound judgemental. Many women and men makes choices different to this. Many are for darn good reasons. But I am entitled to have my own darn good reasons. So will be reporting back soon on how I am going to be setting up shop now that I only have one more week of Family Leave.

Right now I am going to smell the cedar on the wall in this new place. Listen to neighbors laughing up the street in the garage. The sound of baby breathing on the monitor as our bedroom and living room are no longer essentially the same room. There is a dog barking. We don't live on a lush hillside in a green valley anymore. We live in a busy, westside local community where there is an old japanese man who waters his beans and lettuce every evening as the sun goes down. There are cars in the other neighbors yard that don't work. People sit in their garages on Saturday nights and tell stories.

It will be different. But I think we will have some good times here.

Home Again, Home Again

2009-01-24T12:44:00.000-08:00

Little Chum is back on his home turf in the middle of a big ocean. I believe that he will grow up to be a most enthusiastic world traveler based on his earlier ecstatic memories of flying. Basically this baby equtes flying with boobies. Everytime he made a peep I was like, "here son, have some more? need a top up? milk, coming right up!" This keeps him in a milky stupor and more importantly, quiet.

Because I have flown loooooong distances near squawking babies. Babies squawking through no fault of their own, I often feel like squawking on long flights but growing up generally means that is frowned upon (and will likely take you directly to the Department of Homeland Security's secret lair without passing go." Still, squawking does suck, even if my baby is incredibly whimsical and handsome while he does so.

So he flew 6 hours like a dream and is between the three of us, the only one truly back in his hometown.

I will try to get up extra early to post some highlights from our southwest trip. There were many: Chum's first solo hike adventure w/ Momma, Chum's first experience in snow, Chum's first apparent disdain for cold weather, Chum's first stop by Border Patrol, etc.

But for now I hear the little fellow talking loudly to Poppa in the next room. I might try to calm him down a bit before I go on my first back on Kauai run. First running goal of the year is the 5k at Waimea Days in a month. Need to get that under my belt before I make bigger plans. So gotta go, no one wants hefty sweat pant mom so better get my sweatin' on.

Beware the Cauliflower??

2009-01-12T23:14:00.000-08:00

Nick is up in Flagstaff completing a wilderness first aid course. It's only two hours away but seemed a lot further last night at 2am when Chum woke up for an early morning feed. He then proceeded to grizzle away the dark hours until around 4.30 when he finally started to madly suck "Soothie" the magic blue pacifier and drift off to sleep. Not sure what the problem was as he is usually a super sleeper (an important characteristic as we are a family that relishes in the joys of a simple snooze and cuddle). We dozed nose to nose until the sun started up at which time he started giggling and snorting. While it was cute, I had to find his Nana as Momma was in desperate need of more snoozin'.

Despite my bout of crankiness this morning, I normally really, really love early mornings with Chum. He wakes up a delight and spends a good hour or two concocting concertinas of chuckles, squeeks, fake coughs, grunts and coos. We leave Poppa to sleeping and hang out in fron the the living room fireplace in a quiet house watching the sun light up the foothills. I throw in some well timed responses like "Yes, yes I see what you mean" or "No, really?" or a vague "Hmmmm" to which his whole face lights up, the dimples emerge and he waves his hands like a madman.

The only reason I can come up for his fussy middle of the night episode is that I ate something out of the ordinary that set him off. The only thing I could think of was cauliflower. So wondering should I leave it alone or try eating it again in a few days to confirm this very un-scientific hypothesis??

I should add this whole early morn' time he is sans diaper which must make up a large part of the joy. This is a kid who truly loves to be naked. I see a future of streaking at football games in his future.

We have been completely spoiled during this extended holiday to the South West and I am slightly dreading the return to our little island next week. Looking forward to seeing the whales, the sunsets and even the chickens. But am going to miss waking up to fresh coffee and never wondering what to make for dinner.

Have starting dreaming of a massive road trip for fall back through this part of the world. Stay tuned for plans. Chum's passport came in the mail the other day and tickets for April's Australia trip have been bought. He better hang onto his "Soothie" because I see plenty of wandering in his future.

Desert Tripping

2009-01-07T18:37:00.000-08:00

Spent the day cruising through the Apache Trail, a scenic drive east of Mesa through the Superstition Mountains. Chumsy has been getting way better at spending longer than oh, say 5 minutes in his car seat. I had always heard stories from pals of colicky babes driving midnight streets to cease the crying. Our little fella had the reverse reaction. I'd take one happy baby, toss in a pinch of car seat, add one turned on car and it was a surefire recipe for hysterics.

However, as of late our 3 hours plus drive to Yuma, 8 hour trip to 3 wildlife refuges and today's full day of stop and go has started to pay off. He's not exactly squealing with delight when placed in backseat, but I can conjure a smile or two occasionally. And when that fails, belting out "B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-0, B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was his name, oh!" tends to work miracles. Even if he just forces himself to sleep to make my swan song disappear.

This is good. Really good. Because we have high hopes that include lots o' travels in this wee bubs future. Been seriously considering tackling a longer southwest soujourn toward the end of the year.

Below pics are a couple of snaps from last couple days. Sunset over Phoenix, Hiking up Palm Canyon in Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, and up Fish Creek Canyon.

comparing 2 days to 49

2009-01-02T10:35:00.001-08:00

Sonoran Sunsets

2008-12-30T09:03:00.000-08:00

Last night Nick, Chum and I headed into Phoenix for a walk around Papago Park and an after dark walkabout of the Desert Botanical Garden's Chihuly: The Nature of Glass exhibition. We had originally thought about going during the day and boy am I glad we procrastinated...at night it was organically orgasmic...

I love Chihuly and the DBG (always try to get there when I visit my folks) so it was a total win win. The night air was happily much warmer than the previous few days 35 degrees so chum contently spent most of the time warm and getting nursed in my arms. Breastfeeding and walking is a skill I have recently mastered and one that is bound to get my biceps to the size of the Incredible Hulk before long.

Later we cruised to the Udupi Cafe in Tempe with the fam. Nick and I had been rhapsodizing the mouthwatering joys tandoori lamb and were quite bemused when we realized my bro had picked a vegan/vegetarian hotspot. Normally a location like that would totally be our thing but at that moment it was..."What? No feasting on the flesh of tiny sheep? What the $(*&)(&%#??" However soon we were feasting on mulligatawny soup and dosai and left with bursting, cruelty free bellies.

This was the third or fourth time Little Chum has hung out in a restaurant. He decided to celebrate that, and his 7th week anniversary by being more fussy than normal. Luckily, Nick's new i-touch has a white noise feature, perfect for soothing sleepy babies but generates us weird looks for nearby patrons.

Our Wee Man

2008-12-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

I've decided to give blogging another go as a 2009 resolution. This is a past time that I am notoriously not very good at keeping up to date. As Little Chum lives on a small island in the middle of a big ocean he is far, far from extended family and good friends he hasn't met yet. With a bit of diligence and hopefully increasingly better access to wi-fi within the next few months, this is designed as a little corner of the internet for folks to love on our wee man.

Not that long ago I was a huge preggo lady lumbering along the sun-soaked Hawaiian beaches...

Then surprise, I have a kid!

Sometimes I get so tired that I literally nod off over my early morning coffee. Sometimes I find myself getting so frustrated that my teeth seemed destined to split under the grinding. Sometimes I think...maybe I'm not as good at this as I thought I'd be.

Sometimes I think, I totally got this. Sometimes I think, I can't remember before he came. Sometimes I think, I want to stop time right now.

Then I'm crazy excited for what's going to happen next.

So bear with me dear folks...I'll try my very bestest to keep you updated with the adventures of Little Chum's first year.