Finally, a home improvement project that won't suck! (Hope I didn't jinx it there.)
Ever since we moved into our lovely new home 3 years ago, we've had a little intermittent problem. Once in a while, our smoke detectors decide it's time to go off for no good reason. Now, these are not your average, old-school, battery-operated smoke detectors. Nooo, these babies are hard-wired into the ceiling, and as such, their "beep" is loud and shrill enough to wake the dead. This morning at 6:10, they woke us all out of a dead sleep. They scared the bejeesus out of Katie, whose screaming, by the way, was ALMOST as loud as the beeping. Almost. And then it stopped, because there was NO SMOKE and NO FIRE. Gah. We all tried to go back to sleep but it was no use. Poor Anthony, he wasn't supposed to be up until 8:30.
Anyway, the happiness part is this: after some deliberation over whether to call an electrician, I called the customer service line for BRK alarms. The agent told me I didn't need an electrician, that the problem is in the units themselves, not the wiring. They are only good for 10 years and it's been 13. And the best news? The units are available from Amazon, on sale! With Amazon Prime! So in two days (and some fun on a ladder), we will be in the clear and (hopefully) this will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!!!!!!!!!
Hooraaaaaay!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Epic yogurt fail!
Recently, prompted by the sky-high price of Fage at our local market, I decided to try making my own greek-style yogurt. I read a couple of good blog posts, here and here.
Both posts made it look SO easy, I decided to give it a shot. I decided that using the "preheated oven" approach would be the easiest, but I worried that my oven might not be warm enough because it's electric instead of gas and doesn't have a pilot light. But I figured that if it wasn't warm enough, oh well, the milk just wouldn't turn into yogurt.
Boy was I wrong!
Now, neither of these posts that I'd read mentioned anything about making yogurt with a 16-month-old underfoot. I need to remember in future to always factor in 1) major distractions and 2) sleep-deprivation-related "mommy brain."
Somehow I managed to get through the process of heating and cooling the milk. I even managed to mix in my yogurt starter. I poured it carefully into an upcycled spaghetti sauce jar, saved and meticulously cleaned for this purpose. I placed it into my preheated oven, turned off.
When I checked on my project, the oven seemed too cool, so I turned it back on just for a few seconds to warm back up.
And that is where the whole thing went horribly wrong. An hour later, I walked past the oven and wondered, "what's that weird hissing sound? And why is the oven at 300 degrees?"
That's right, the hissing was a HORRIFYING MILK BOMB, ready to explode after being in a 300-degree oven for an entire hour!!!!!!!!!!!! I was too scared to touch it - I really thought it might explode and send shards of glass and molten milk everywhere. So I let it cool. It continued to boil for HOURS. Finally I was brave enough to bring it outside, where it still sits, a reminder of my failure.
Let's hope next time is a big Yogurt Win! :)
Both posts made it look SO easy, I decided to give it a shot. I decided that using the "preheated oven" approach would be the easiest, but I worried that my oven might not be warm enough because it's electric instead of gas and doesn't have a pilot light. But I figured that if it wasn't warm enough, oh well, the milk just wouldn't turn into yogurt.
Boy was I wrong!
Now, neither of these posts that I'd read mentioned anything about making yogurt with a 16-month-old underfoot. I need to remember in future to always factor in 1) major distractions and 2) sleep-deprivation-related "mommy brain."
Somehow I managed to get through the process of heating and cooling the milk. I even managed to mix in my yogurt starter. I poured it carefully into an upcycled spaghetti sauce jar, saved and meticulously cleaned for this purpose. I placed it into my preheated oven, turned off.
When I checked on my project, the oven seemed too cool, so I turned it back on just for a few seconds to warm back up.
And that is where the whole thing went horribly wrong. An hour later, I walked past the oven and wondered, "what's that weird hissing sound? And why is the oven at 300 degrees?"
 |
| Can you see it boiling? GROSS! |
That's right, the hissing was a HORRIFYING MILK BOMB, ready to explode after being in a 300-degree oven for an entire hour!!!!!!!!!!!! I was too scared to touch it - I really thought it might explode and send shards of glass and molten milk everywhere. So I let it cool. It continued to boil for HOURS. Finally I was brave enough to bring it outside, where it still sits, a reminder of my failure.
Let's hope next time is a big Yogurt Win! :)
Friday, March 9, 2012
Books vs. Movies
This morning I started thinking about a couple of movies I'd like to see, and I caught myself wondering whether there is a book version of any of them. Old habits die hard. As an avid reader, I used to be a stickler for reading the book first, before seeing a movie adaptation. But now I've changed my mind. For me, reading the book first nearly always results in a disappointing moviegoing experience. Allow me to cite some examples.
The Prince of Tides - I think this was the first book/movie combo I really disliked. The book was fantastic - absorbing, well-written, with interesting characters that you really wanted to know more about. I just couldn't get into Nick Nolte & Barbra Streisand - even though I think Nick Nolte did a really good job. The chemistry just wasn't there for me - at least not like it was in the book! But I think I might have enjoyed this film without the book to compare it to.
Harry Potter - I loved these books so much, there's really no way a movie could have done them justice. They're pretty good movies, too - an all-star cast, cute kids, good screenwriter, incredible sets, etc. But I couldn't help noticing all the things they had to leave out, and the liberties they had to take with the plot, in order to fit an entire book into 1 movie. (Or in some cases, 2 movies.) Plus, even the most spectacular sequences paled in comparison to how I'd imagined them.
In short, I think these movies were "ruined" for me by the books. But I wouldn't trade the experience of reading them for the experience of watching a movie.
I also have two instances of movies that I watched first, and then loved so much that I read the books.
A Room with a View - Arguably my favorite movie, ever. I was about 15 when I saw it. I'd never heard of it, or the book. My mom and I were channel-surfing one evening when we came across this movie on PBS. Wouldn't you know it, we came into it during the bath-in-the-pond scene. Complete with partial nudity - George Emerson and Mr. Beebe cavorting, splashing and frolicking - and getting caught by Cecil, Lucy and Mrs. Honeychurch!!! Needless to say, we were HOOKED. We rented the movie so we could watch the rest, and ended up buying a copy because we loved it so much. Fast forward another 15 years, when I found a battered old copy of the book at the library in Naples, Maine. I devoured it in a matter of hours, and delighted in new scenes, new details, and a deeper understanding of the characters. Truly a pleasant and satisfying experience.
Pride and Prejudice (BBC miniseries) - I confess I'd never read Pride and Prejudice before seeing this adaptation. I saw it while visiting my friend Emily in Seattle. We made a marathon of it, drank tea and DROOLED over Mr. Darcy. When I read the book a while later, it actually really helped me wade through some of Jane Austen's more subtle passages. I already had a basic understanding of the plot and the characters, so I was able to follow along much more easily. I must say, the BBC adaptation was so good and so true to the book, I'm not sure this one would have been ruined if I'd read the book first - but we'll never know. :)
Which do you prefer - book first or movie first?
The Prince of Tides - I think this was the first book/movie combo I really disliked. The book was fantastic - absorbing, well-written, with interesting characters that you really wanted to know more about. I just couldn't get into Nick Nolte & Barbra Streisand - even though I think Nick Nolte did a really good job. The chemistry just wasn't there for me - at least not like it was in the book! But I think I might have enjoyed this film without the book to compare it to.
Harry Potter - I loved these books so much, there's really no way a movie could have done them justice. They're pretty good movies, too - an all-star cast, cute kids, good screenwriter, incredible sets, etc. But I couldn't help noticing all the things they had to leave out, and the liberties they had to take with the plot, in order to fit an entire book into 1 movie. (Or in some cases, 2 movies.) Plus, even the most spectacular sequences paled in comparison to how I'd imagined them.
In short, I think these movies were "ruined" for me by the books. But I wouldn't trade the experience of reading them for the experience of watching a movie.
I also have two instances of movies that I watched first, and then loved so much that I read the books.
A Room with a View - Arguably my favorite movie, ever. I was about 15 when I saw it. I'd never heard of it, or the book. My mom and I were channel-surfing one evening when we came across this movie on PBS. Wouldn't you know it, we came into it during the bath-in-the-pond scene. Complete with partial nudity - George Emerson and Mr. Beebe cavorting, splashing and frolicking - and getting caught by Cecil, Lucy and Mrs. Honeychurch!!! Needless to say, we were HOOKED. We rented the movie so we could watch the rest, and ended up buying a copy because we loved it so much. Fast forward another 15 years, when I found a battered old copy of the book at the library in Naples, Maine. I devoured it in a matter of hours, and delighted in new scenes, new details, and a deeper understanding of the characters. Truly a pleasant and satisfying experience.
Pride and Prejudice (BBC miniseries) - I confess I'd never read Pride and Prejudice before seeing this adaptation. I saw it while visiting my friend Emily in Seattle. We made a marathon of it, drank tea and DROOLED over Mr. Darcy. When I read the book a while later, it actually really helped me wade through some of Jane Austen's more subtle passages. I already had a basic understanding of the plot and the characters, so I was able to follow along much more easily. I must say, the BBC adaptation was so good and so true to the book, I'm not sure this one would have been ruined if I'd read the book first - but we'll never know. :)
Which do you prefer - book first or movie first?
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Why I Wear Mens' Socks
Last Christmas, I went shopping with my BFF at Target. While there, she went to look for some mens' socks for her husband as a stocking stuffer. (Ain't it great getting older? Our husbands used to get candy, now they get socks.) Anyway, she started picking out an assortment of masculine colors: blue, gray, black, etc. And it suddenly hit me. Not everybody wears white socks.
Anyone who knows me really well knows two things: 1) I am ALWAYS wearing socks, because my feet are always cold, and 2) my socks are ALWAYS white. (I don't mean that they're blindingly-clean white, I mean they are *meant* to be white. Sometimes white socks can be a little tired-looking.)
Anyway, on that Target shopping day, I revealed a little-known secret about me and my husband. One day, more than 10 years ago, we both decided that matching socks out of the dryer was a real drag. Laundry is enough of a chore, but finding the match to every single sock in a load - UGH! And there are *always* mismatched socks. Always! I used to have a whole drawer dedicated to "lone" socks.
So we decided to ditch all of our socks, and buy several packs of the same sock at Costco. In short: there is only ONE kind of sock in our house. White athletic Costco socks. We both wear 'em. You could fold our laundry in the dark.
So that, folks, is why I wear mens' socks. And yes, it may have been the first step on a slippery slope to the fashion doldrums in which I have resided for quite a while now. But that's a story for another post. :)
Anyone who knows me really well knows two things: 1) I am ALWAYS wearing socks, because my feet are always cold, and 2) my socks are ALWAYS white. (I don't mean that they're blindingly-clean white, I mean they are *meant* to be white. Sometimes white socks can be a little tired-looking.)
Anyway, on that Target shopping day, I revealed a little-known secret about me and my husband. One day, more than 10 years ago, we both decided that matching socks out of the dryer was a real drag. Laundry is enough of a chore, but finding the match to every single sock in a load - UGH! And there are *always* mismatched socks. Always! I used to have a whole drawer dedicated to "lone" socks.
So we decided to ditch all of our socks, and buy several packs of the same sock at Costco. In short: there is only ONE kind of sock in our house. White athletic Costco socks. We both wear 'em. You could fold our laundry in the dark.
So that, folks, is why I wear mens' socks. And yes, it may have been the first step on a slippery slope to the fashion doldrums in which I have resided for quite a while now. But that's a story for another post. :)
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Diapering is SO overrated!
My husband and I gave a lot of thought to cloth vs. disposable diapering before our daughter was born. I convinced him to give cloth a try, with the stipulation that after she started eating solids, we could switch to a diaper service if things got too icky. Or just give up cloth entirely! We remembered Bill Cosby's standup routine about baby poo - how it's just sooo cute in the beginning and then BAM!! Not so cute anymore! Lol.
Lucky for us, I came across an article about the top 10 things you don't need to buy for a baby. On the list were things like a baby bathtub, baby lotions/shampoos, a stroller, baby food, and a couple other items I can't remember...and diapers. I did a double-take. I was expecting them to say disposable diapers, but no! The list item was "Diapers." Period. The article went on to explain that in many parts of the world, especially poorer countries where access to laundry services is limited, parents don't put their babies in diapers. This blew my mind! What do they do about the near-constant pee and poo, I wondered? They potty train their babies from birth, that's what! At first glance, I thought this was absolutely insane. But I kept reading. The more I read, the more sense it made.
Elimination Communication, or Infant Potty Training, is actually a gentle, no-pressure way to communicate with your baby about his/her potty needs. In other words, you can teach your baby to let you know when it's time to potty. It's not even difficult! The theory is that babies naturally prefer NOT to sit in their own waste (um, who would?) and have a great deal of awareness of their potty needs, even at birth. The trick is to figure out a way for baby and parent to communicate, so they can work together to get pottying done on the potty instead of in a diaper!
Anyway, I can't do this premise justice the way this book can: The Diaper-Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh. Suffice it to say that I tried it with Katie and it WORKED!!! We do what's called "part-time" EC, and we use cloth diapers as a backup. So for us, Katie wears diapers all the time, but whenever it's time to change her, I offer her a "potty-tunity." I sit her on the potty and make a "cue" sound that she recognizes. If she pees, great! If not, no problem. Then we change her diaper and that's it. Often her diaper is dry when I put her on the potty, so we just put it back on. Couldn't be easier! Oh, and now that she knows some sign language and words, she tells me "Poo!" and makes the "poo" sign, and I whisk her off to the potty and she poops! NO MORE CHANGING POOPY DIAPERS!
I wish I could tell every person in the world about this. It's the greatest thing ever!!!! And, if all goes according to plan, it should make potty training (REAL potty training, I mean) much easier. She already knows that pee and poo are supposed to go in the potty. She's not afraid of the potty. She doesn't even mind me flushing it. If she had the dexterity to take her pants off and climb onto the toilet, she could do it herself! Woohoo!
Lucky for us, I came across an article about the top 10 things you don't need to buy for a baby. On the list were things like a baby bathtub, baby lotions/shampoos, a stroller, baby food, and a couple other items I can't remember...and diapers. I did a double-take. I was expecting them to say disposable diapers, but no! The list item was "Diapers." Period. The article went on to explain that in many parts of the world, especially poorer countries where access to laundry services is limited, parents don't put their babies in diapers. This blew my mind! What do they do about the near-constant pee and poo, I wondered? They potty train their babies from birth, that's what! At first glance, I thought this was absolutely insane. But I kept reading. The more I read, the more sense it made.
Elimination Communication, or Infant Potty Training, is actually a gentle, no-pressure way to communicate with your baby about his/her potty needs. In other words, you can teach your baby to let you know when it's time to potty. It's not even difficult! The theory is that babies naturally prefer NOT to sit in their own waste (um, who would?) and have a great deal of awareness of their potty needs, even at birth. The trick is to figure out a way for baby and parent to communicate, so they can work together to get pottying done on the potty instead of in a diaper!
Anyway, I can't do this premise justice the way this book can: The Diaper-Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh. Suffice it to say that I tried it with Katie and it WORKED!!! We do what's called "part-time" EC, and we use cloth diapers as a backup. So for us, Katie wears diapers all the time, but whenever it's time to change her, I offer her a "potty-tunity." I sit her on the potty and make a "cue" sound that she recognizes. If she pees, great! If not, no problem. Then we change her diaper and that's it. Often her diaper is dry when I put her on the potty, so we just put it back on. Couldn't be easier! Oh, and now that she knows some sign language and words, she tells me "Poo!" and makes the "poo" sign, and I whisk her off to the potty and she poops! NO MORE CHANGING POOPY DIAPERS!
I wish I could tell every person in the world about this. It's the greatest thing ever!!!! And, if all goes according to plan, it should make potty training (REAL potty training, I mean) much easier. She already knows that pee and poo are supposed to go in the potty. She's not afraid of the potty. She doesn't even mind me flushing it. If she had the dexterity to take her pants off and climb onto the toilet, she could do it herself! Woohoo!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Katie's words!
Just a quick post - I keep meaning to make a list of Katie's words, but she's learning them faster than I can write them down! Woohoo! So here goes, as of Feb. 23, 2012, age 15 months:
Milk (with sign)
Bo-bo (rainbow)
Lambie
Mee-mees (Sleep, w/sign)
Ball (sometimes w/sign)
Bird (w/sign)
Dog (w/sign)
Dada (sometimes w/sign)
Mama
Mum-mum (rice snack)
Airplane (w/sign - and VROOOOM for jets and BRRRRRR for prop planes! amazing! Yeah, we live near two airports. LOL.)
Oink (for pig)
Bear
Uh-oh!
No-no! (she says this before she does something naughty.)
Poo (w/sign)
Pants
Shoes (w/sign)
Watermelon (muh-muh-muh-muh)
Pee-pee
Baby
Bye-bye (with wave)
Bath (w/sign)
Cheese
Eat (in progress)
Milk (with sign)
Bo-bo (rainbow)
Lambie
Mee-mees (Sleep, w/sign)
Ball (sometimes w/sign)
Bird (w/sign)
Dog (w/sign)
Dada (sometimes w/sign)
Mama
Mum-mum (rice snack)
Airplane (w/sign - and VROOOOM for jets and BRRRRRR for prop planes! amazing! Yeah, we live near two airports. LOL.)
Oink (for pig)
Bear
Uh-oh!
No-no! (she says this before she does something naughty.)
Poo (w/sign)
Pants
Shoes (w/sign)
Watermelon (muh-muh-muh-muh)
Pee-pee
Baby
Bye-bye (with wave)
Bath (w/sign)
Cheese
Eat (in progress)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Stupendous things about Katie, part 1
Today I was thinking of some of the wonderful and unexpected things about Katie. Some are probably pretty ordinary, but for me, well...I wasn't expecting them. More to come, I'm sure!
1) Katie couldn't care less if her diaper is wet.
I guess the irony here is that we use cloth diapers, which are said to lead to earlier potty training because the baby can feel the wetness (vs. a disposable). Well, I suppose Katie can feel it, but she just doesn't care. I usually change her every 90 minutes or so, but a couple of times we've been on a family outing and lost track of time. Once her diaper was so wet it leaked through her sweatpants and onto the ergo carrier! But she was happy as a clam. Who knew?
2) Katie couldn't care less what temperature her bottle is.
Funnily enough, I still warm her bottle a little in the morning to "take the chill off." She hates waiting for it! Yesterday I just gave it to her straight from the fridge, and she was completely fine. We are so lucky, it makes things so much easier not to have to warm bottles.
3) Katie loves going down the slide - even the twisty slide - by herself.
When I was little, I used to be DEATHLY afraid of the twisty slide. I mean, for years and years! I remember finally getting up the nerve and doing it. I remember the adrenaline pumping through my veins! But Katie is great about it. Cutest thing ever!
4) Katie is unafraid of strange doggies.
Katie's grandma - my mom - is so afraid of dogs that when she goes out for walks, she brings an umbrella to scare dogs away. It makes such a great mental picture, my mom fighting off a strange dog with an umbrella. I know it sounds cruel, but I almost wish a dog would approach her, just so she could see how incredibly useless an umbrella would be in that situation. But anyway - not Katie! Bold as brass.
5) Katie does not mind itchy clothing, itchy tags, bunched up sleeves, etc.
I am constantly fussing with Katie's clothing to make sure that none of the above are bothering her. Why? Because these things drive Anthony and me crazy! Apparently Katie did not inherit the "itchy things" gene. Lucky girl!
6) Katie loves broccoli!
This might not be that weird, except that for my entire childhood, I hated broccoli. I hated it so much that I would have voted for George Bush, Sr., who hated broccoli too, had I not been underage. And a liberal. ;)
More to come!
1) Katie couldn't care less if her diaper is wet.
I guess the irony here is that we use cloth diapers, which are said to lead to earlier potty training because the baby can feel the wetness (vs. a disposable). Well, I suppose Katie can feel it, but she just doesn't care. I usually change her every 90 minutes or so, but a couple of times we've been on a family outing and lost track of time. Once her diaper was so wet it leaked through her sweatpants and onto the ergo carrier! But she was happy as a clam. Who knew?
2) Katie couldn't care less what temperature her bottle is.
Funnily enough, I still warm her bottle a little in the morning to "take the chill off." She hates waiting for it! Yesterday I just gave it to her straight from the fridge, and she was completely fine. We are so lucky, it makes things so much easier not to have to warm bottles.
3) Katie loves going down the slide - even the twisty slide - by herself.
When I was little, I used to be DEATHLY afraid of the twisty slide. I mean, for years and years! I remember finally getting up the nerve and doing it. I remember the adrenaline pumping through my veins! But Katie is great about it. Cutest thing ever!
4) Katie is unafraid of strange doggies.
Katie's grandma - my mom - is so afraid of dogs that when she goes out for walks, she brings an umbrella to scare dogs away. It makes such a great mental picture, my mom fighting off a strange dog with an umbrella. I know it sounds cruel, but I almost wish a dog would approach her, just so she could see how incredibly useless an umbrella would be in that situation. But anyway - not Katie! Bold as brass.
5) Katie does not mind itchy clothing, itchy tags, bunched up sleeves, etc.
I am constantly fussing with Katie's clothing to make sure that none of the above are bothering her. Why? Because these things drive Anthony and me crazy! Apparently Katie did not inherit the "itchy things" gene. Lucky girl!
6) Katie loves broccoli!
This might not be that weird, except that for my entire childhood, I hated broccoli. I hated it so much that I would have voted for George Bush, Sr., who hated broccoli too, had I not been underage. And a liberal. ;)
More to come!
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