12 weeks

Benjamin celebrated his 12 week birthday with his first cold. He seems to have caught the sneezy, runny eyed, runny nose goop that I had last week. He looked so pathetic with his watery red eyes. I wanted to dress him warm and we don't have many polar fleeces left that are big enough for them, so I ended up putting him in a duck costume. It was adorable. but it felt wrong to make him look so cute when he did not feel well!! Despite not feeling well he still got excited when Dad came home and started playing with him. If you want to see him laughing, try this video!

He loves odd noises like that rolling R, or "digadigadigadigadigadiga" etc. He also has been grabbing/pinching things. including our arms and arm hair unfortunately! I cut his nails but it does not really help. He makes more noises every day. His favorite seems to be "agooooo", sort of growly. He is adorable really. His cold seems better today, though he is quite grumpy!!

This coming week he will be 3 months old. I hope to get another weight then. post more pics. But for now the video will have to do :)

Reviews

This weekend I finished my first book of 2012-  Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I don't know what it is with me and Charles Dickens. I thought I liked him. I did not mind reading Oliver Twist  and Hard Times in high school, I liked The Christmas Carol, by my last two reads by him have been disappointing. I am thinking I don't like Charles Dickens, I am just so-so about his writing. Anyways, it took me FOREVER to get through  Great Expectations. I thought this was because of pregnancy brain and mommy brain, but finishing the book and looking back, I think it really was because I did not enjoy it, not even an eensy weensy bit. It wasn't horrible for the most part, until the end got really preachy. I ended up giving it 1 out of 5 stars. Pointless and preachy in the end.

I also watched a movie this weekend that I wanted to comment on - Midnight in Paris. It was nominated for best picture. I think it was really interesting. It is really about how we romanticize what has already been created and fail to see the genius in our own time, or in ourselves. I would give it 4 stars (of 5). The thing I would change about it is that there were some characters who were too blatantly unlikeable and it would have been a more clever/deeper movie if they had had more value.

Perfect Moment

With the weather so nice these days (highs in the 60s or low 70s), DH and I have taken to going on evening walks whenever the baby cooperates. Last night we were walking back up the driveway and we were talking about the transition to parenthood and how much I love being a mother and how much he likes being a father and how glad we are to have Benjamin. At that moment Benjamin, who was sitting in my arms facing us, got a huge grin and started laughing. He laughed for a good minute with a giant smile on his face (and of course we joined him). It is by far the best laughter he has given us. I think it was him saying "I am glad you have me too!" It was a perfect family moment.

Irish Food

The best thing about St Patrick's Day is the opportunity to make some great Irish food. Yes, I am very food oriented!! I have to say we out did ourselves this year!!

It started about three weeks ago when it occurred to me that we could probably make corned beef from scratch if we planned ahead. So we did! I started researching recipes and eventually settled on this recipe for brine: http://blog.junbelen.com/2010/03/15/how-to-make-corned-beef-brisket-nitrate-free-at-home/ because I did not much fancy trying to find saltpeter, a nitrate used in most corned beef. So I bought a four pound beef roast and made up the brine about 2 weeks ago. It calls for some rare spices like whole Juniper and Allspice berries. I found these at the local Whole Food Coop where they allow you to buy loose spices by weight, meaning I could buy very small amounts - enough just for the recipe, and not have a big jar of something I will never use again in my spice cabinet. So we waited for the two weeks, occasionally shaking the brine up and flipping the meat about a week ago.

When it was time to cook it, my Dad advised me that while that recipe calls for boiling, it was his experience from watching the food network (Mostly "Diners Drive-throughs and Dives") that all the best corned beef is baked, so we googled and for the actual cooking used this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/baked-corned-beef-brisket-410347 . The roast ended up being in the oven for about four and a half hours at 275. To round out the meal we found Colleen's Colcannon Potatoes  -  a mash with potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and cabbage. We also had a loaf of sauerkraut bread.

This meal was outstanding. Each piece on its own was wonderful, and the flavors just worked together perfectly. Put a beer along side and it was heaven. I admittedly drank a Belgian style wheat beer with it, which DH says is out of the spirit of St Patty's Day, but it was delicious.

The only thing that could have made the meal better was if I had thought to make a Irish Creme dessert. Maybe next year.

Also, this morning I made what my dad aptly titled "Half Ass Hash". I took some of the leftover mash, cut up corn beef over it and microwaved it, then put an egg cooked over easy on top. Served with coffee sweetened with honey. Delicious!

Ides

It is the middle of March. This means Pi day just passed (3.14), dictators should be wary (3/15), we soon will be drinking green beer (3/17), and most significantly, March Madness. March madness is why I am sitting in our living room (my parents living room) with my Dad, DH, and Benjamin. The TV is playing USF vs Temple. It is 10:20pm. I am the only one awake. I am not even really watching, I am surfing the net. Enjoy the humor of the situation! The tournament is going decently. My bracket is a little messed up. but with the upsets of Duke and Missouri, a lot of people's are. I actually have two brackets. In my better bracket I am leading my group with 21/28 picks correct and 159 possible points left. Exciting, eh? Now my dad is snoring, Benjamin is sucking in his sleep (just air... no pacifier in or anything), and DH is all snuggled into his pillow on the couch. Aren't they cute? If I was rude I would post a picture of them, but I am too lazy to get up and get the cord to plug my camera into the computer.

We moved into my parents on January 27th. That means we have been here 7 weeks. We moved in without a definite exit strategy, but assumed we would buy a house as soon as possible and be out of my parents way in no time. It has not exactly turned out that way. We either need more income or less monthly debt commitment to get a mortgage for a house here. In other words, I either need to get a job, or our house in Columbus needs to sell. Until one or both of these things happen, we will stay here. It is longer than we expected and we are hitting the point where I am beginning to feel like a burden, despite everyone's reassurance that they don't mind. The majority of our possessions are in my BILs trailer parked in my parents lawn. Until we have somewhere to move that stuff, he has no trailer for his own use, and it is blocking the view from my parent's window. Yesterday my Mom and little sister had to dig something out of a closet that we put a desk in front of because they had not thought to take it out before we moved in because the event the dress is for seemed so far away when we moved in. My ILs want to come and visit and we have no good guest quarters for them (though that has been resolved at least for this first visit). All in all, it would just be really great if our Columbus house would sell. Even if we got an offer tomorrow though, it would be weeks until we could be out. Sorry!! I am very thankful for everyone's patience and generosity.

Re:pinterest. - I have decided the real problem with pinterest is the way I was using it more than the actual concept/site. I am editing/revising my boards so that I use it in a more productive way. Before I was largely using the site to kill time. Now I am going to concentrate on using it to gather ideas about things I actually want to accomplish. My latest new project is getting into a regular work out routine, so I created a fitness board. I am going to post work out articles, motivational things, and rewards/goals onto it.

I guess that is all for now. Sorry my thoughts are so disorganized. but that is just how they are right now.

Time Flies

Apparently its been over two weeks since I uploaded pictures... time flies!

Over the weekend DH and I took baby out and about, just ran errands, then went down the lake (Brighten Beach) for a stroll. The weather has been gorgeous. Right now it is 58. If it stays like this, we can go to the Lakewalk this weekend.  (the lake walk is a path along Lake Superior in Duluth. Great for walking, biking, rollerblading, etc). The nice weather is, well, nice. But I admit I wouldn't mind another blizzard before we get spring for good!

I just can't believe how big Benjamin feels now! I just pulled out the rest of the 3-6 month clothing and most of it looks like he will wear it very soon. He likes to eat his own hands now and is drooling more. We should start putting a bib on him but outfits without them are so much cuter! We are about to start using size 2 diapers. I just tried one on him yesterday and it fit quite well, so we will use them as soon as we use up the 1s. He smiles so much more easily now, and so much more. He liked the song "Little Red" about horse racing and the actions I do with it for him. He likes when I pull a blanket up around him and say "baby burrito!!" He is ticklish and you can always get a smile that way. Its so fun playing with him!

And now for what you really want...

Some Unfriendly Firsts

With Benjamin getting his first shots on Tuesday, we also go to deal with his first fever, and first use of baby Tylenol. All went smoothly, though he was fussy all night pretty much. I always thought people who did things like saved baby's first bandaid were psycho, but I have to admit I considered it! The bandaids were Taz (from looney toons), one on each thigh. Poor little boy. And we get to do it again in May, how fun!

I had a job thing on Thursday morning, an "on site" assessment technically. It was weird going in because I was not even sure I wanted to get the job. Not because its a bad job, I actually think I would enjoy it as much as anything else - but I don't feel ready to go back to work yet.  I want to go back eventually... just not yet. The "on site assessment", as I expected, turned out to be a computerized test. I did very well on it (of course... lol). I mean it was pretty basic stuff, it just was showing I could use a computer, learn the new software quickly, learn and follow rules, and not be a jackass to customers. For the record, the job would be handling people who were calling the health insurance companies about appeals on their claims (fielding questions, inputting data, getting their evidence into file, forwarding things to the correct people, etc).

After I finished the guy proctoring the exam told me that their "class" starting soon is actually full and I could either interview to be a backup for that class, or have them hold my scores/application for future classes. I told him to hold my information. Hopefully they will call me in May or June and want to hire me. In the meantime I will continue to apply for jobs. If it was a really good position, like perhaps with the university, I would take it regardless of the timing, but right now I just still feel like I am on maternity leave and can't stand the idea of dropping Benjamin off at a daycare. I am sure every working mother knows the feeling...

Meanwhile, the job thing also meant we had our first non-family babysitter. It was my mom's work friend. He was only there for 2 hrs or so. I was a bit worried. Seems like all the true SIDS stories you hear about happen at the babysitter... but of course she was a great sitter and he was fine. Motherhood certainly heightens your paranoia!