Latest updates

It's been a couple of months since my last update, so I figure that we must have something to report by now. Actually Violet has been doing a lot of changing recently. She's gone from babyhood firmly into toddlerhood.

Her vocabulary is amazing. I don't know how other kids develop language and I'm not reading any books, so I have no idea if she's Einstein (probably) or way behind... She has about a dozen words that she understands and uses spontaneously (not just repeating back to us). It's hart to understand them, but they are consistent and we understand what they mean. Violet can say - moo, dog (duh), milk (muh), uh-oh, no, mama, daddy (daiy), chicken (kiku), diaper (bopper), cat (cuh), and woof (wuh). She repeats sounds we make and is adding new words every few days - diaper and chicken both appeared this week.

Violet is also walking pretty well. She took her first steps the week after her birthday, 3 months ago, and has been slow to progress on the walking. Finally, this week, she seems to have transitioned into walking about 2/3 of the time and crawling the rest of the time.

She's totally weaned off the bottle, but we are still nursing twice a day. I plan to continue until she is 2, if I can stand dealing with the infection that she gave me in January that I can't kick. Besides that, we both still like it and I'm evangelical about the health benefits to both of us.

Finally for Violet, she has started throwing temper tantrums. We're trying to figure out how to cut them off at the pass. We err on the side of ignoring them to keep from reinforcing bad behavior, but I'm still trying to figure out if there are techniques to be supportive and help her through them.

For me & Jim - we planned to go to Texas this month but I chickened out on the flight. I get new health insurance later this summer which will qualify me for a program that should help. We did travel to North Carolina for a wedding and had a blast. We have another wedding this weekend. 2 friends had babies in the last month and 2 more are due in about 6 weeks.

I've joined the Advisory Board of the Gateway Film Center, which is a movie theater that is reinventing itself to be an entertainment/live events venue. Work keeps me overly busy and Jim's business continues to grow. He hired his first employee a few months ago and hopes to have a second in a year or so.

Our camera broke, but is being repaired, so look for more pictures in a couple of weeks. I keep stockpiling them and will eventually post them on our Picassa account.

Big girl!

In the past few weeks Miss Violet has celebrated her first birthday, started walking, become a kisser, and expanded her vocabulary from "mama" and "dada" to add "no," "uh oh," and maybe "book."  I'll be so proud if her 5th word is "book."  It will overshadow her learning "no" so early.  We hardly ever use that word, trying to encourage her curiosity and confidence by phrasing things positively.  So, instead of "don't hit the dog" we'll say "pet Maddy gently."  Several months ago she seemed to say "muh" for milk and "duh" for dog, but we can't be so sure.

Violet took her first steps just a week after her birthday.  It took her another 3 weeks before she attempted it again, exploding with a dozen little toddles yesterday.  So cute!

She has also shifted to more interactive play.  Violet can sit attentively and play with someone else - feeding other people, petting the dog or attempting to pet our unwilling cat, and imitating nearly everything we do with uncanny detail.

So much fun!

I can't cook, but I'm really good at ordering

I'm thinking about writing a cookbook. No, I'm not going to learn how to cook. Rather, I'm going to convince my spunky neighbor to lend me the personality and recipes for a website and cookbook. I think I'll start the introduction with "I can't cook, but I'm really good at ordering."

Marie lives a block away from us and she loves Violet. We stop in to visit when I see that she is at home. When it's time to leave, she's always pushing amazingly tasty desert on us. So, I got to thinking that she should write a cookbook. I haven't exactly broached the subject with her yet, but I'm sure that she'll "bite." Oooh, the puns are just beginning.

In addition to publishing Marie's recipes, I suspect that she'll endorse a few submissions. So, start working on your favorite, and maybe, just maybe, you'll be good enough to be be published.

I'm getting dizzy

I'm having a problem with the USPS. We use prepaid envelopes that are piling up in an USPS office because they are short staffed. Everyone has been very nice and is trying to help, but we need to get them staffed to process our mail.

A friend suggested I call the Ombuds for the USPS. This is someone who represents customers but works for the company. Here's what happened.

I called the 800 #. They didn't understand what I was talking about. My friend then suggested that I call the main Columbus location. I called them. They said all complaints need to be filed with their 800 # so that it’s documented. I called back to the 800 #. The customer service rep said that she can’t help me because the concern has to be addressed on the local level. She gave me the same customer service # in Columbus that told me to call the 800 #. And their computer system is down so they can’t file a complaint anyway.

Yum!

I love Violet's daycare. She eats better than we do! Check out the January menu. Who gets scones, edamame, and couscous as daycare?!?!

Thank you!

Thank you so much for helping me beat my fundraising goal! I really appreciate everyone who donated, helping me raise $555 to date from family and friends to save the planet. There's still time to donate, so don't feel bad if you haven't gotten around to it yet. 2010 is a great time to start helping the environment! www.firstgiving.com/jodisegal

And... our OEC tote bags are on sale at Whole Foods in Dublin for $7.99!

Movie Blog

In the spirit of Julie & Julia, I'm going to be more thorough and consistent in my movie reviews. I'm going to throw in TV reviews (I watch a few fun things on hulu). I may even go crazy and throw in a book review or album review.

Make my day and comment on the movie blog!

9 months

Violet had her 9 month checkup. She continues to be long and lean - 50 percentile for weight, 90 for height, and 95 for head. The doctor described her as developing preciously since he said that the average baby crawls around 10-11 months and she crawled at 6. I kind of don't believe him, though, since I see the other kids at daycare doing the same thing. My baby development book has her tracking right on target, with some things a little early. Of course, I think she's brilliant.

Violet only uses her pacifier while sleeping. Today she woke up and took it out of her mouth. It's a tiny thing, but something she hasn't done before. It's so cool to get to witness her learn new associations and more complex behaviors. She wants to keep the binky, but she knows that the next thing that is going to happen is I'm going to dramatically drop it in the bed.

And, she loooooves black beans. Yuck!

Everyday changes

9 months old on Friday! I'm amazed by how much Violet grows and changes every day. She is starting to develop a vocabulary. We know she can say momma, and think she has daddy (sounds like da-ee) and no. She's good at communicating her need non-verbally, but hasn't picked up on any of the sign language we've been doing for the past 4 months. Since she seems to be good verbally, I'm guessing that she'll skip signing and go straight to talking.

Her dismounts are getting a little more coordinated now that she realizes that she can bend her knees, making it a little easier for her to get from standing to sitting. Today she made her first attempt at cruising - travelling while holding on to furniture. This was accomplished while also mastering the fine art of clothes sorting (aka pulling clothes out of drawers and bins).

Her eating skills have exploded as well. She can now eat with her hands and get about 50% of it in her mouth. She will eat ANYTHING that we give her - eggplant, hummus, zucchini, feta, pita, carrots, pizza, spaghetti, lemons, oranges, onions, celery, lettuce, tomatoes... She's just now cutting her first tooth, so it all has to be pretty mushy. It keeps her quite busy, freeing us up to eat like civilized people. Yay!

On a different note, I have returned my wedding ring. It has spent almost as much time at the jewelers at it did on my finger, so they have agreed to a refund. Let me know if you find any cool rings that I should look at!

Mama

Violet continues to be a very happy and sweet baby. She is becoming more communicative/interactive which means she's better at indicating what she wants and what she doesn't want.

The big challenge seems to be around food. She'll eat baby food/purees great at daycare, but doesn't want to do this at home. We think this is why she tends to be crabbier on the weekends. She's getting good at eating finger foods and loves citrus fruits.

It's a lot of fun to watch her stand and then make her way to sitting again. She slowly lowers herself down using a variety of different methods. She will put her butt down on carpet and do a mish-mash lowering and butt down and splits on wood floors. We keep trying to get it on film, but she gets distracted by the camera.

Violet is also saying "mama" and knows that word is for me! She clearly knows that I'm the smartest, funniest, and most interesting person in the world. Just ask Jim :)

Video of Violet

Though she has been doing it at daycare for a couple weeks this is the first time Jodi and I got to see Violet pull herself up. Now it's on, she has already started to grab things from higher up on shelves.

Baby Pics

Here's a link to the pics from the photo shoot we had a few weeks ago. The event code is our kid's name. (Email me if you don't know her name and I'll send it to you) Jim & I needed some specific head shots or nature shots for work, so there are a few odd ones thrown in there.

Let me know if you would like me to order any for you.

Also, please consider donating to the Ohio Environmental Council! It's such an amazing organization, that they hired me to work there!

Violet's First Halloween

Violet proved to us that she can hang on to something, if she really wants to. She clung to the mini candy bar for about an hour, turning it to mush.

coin scam

My dad told us about how you can get a ton frequent flyer miles for spending $ on a credit card. He bought silver dollars, which we thought was hilarious. Here's a guy that has taken it to the extreme. Scroll down to the entry with all of the pics. It's crazy and impressive all at the same time.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz/833911-buy-presidential-dollar-coins-cc-face-value-free-shipping-341.html

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Circleville pumpkin festival

This American Life and Health Care

So anyone that had ever been in a car with Jodi and I knows that we listen to NPR all the time (and yes we do give). Over the years I have had an on again off again relationship with This American Life, an NPR show. Having bought an Iphone last year I started listening to a lot of NPR shows via podcast, including This American Life (I finish about one out of three episodes, some weeks Ira Glass really gets on my nerves).

The last two weeks This American Life tackled the sticky subject of the health care debate. They did a show two weeks ago talking about the three things that make health care expensive: Doctors, Patients and Insurance Companies (Episode 391). Last week they looked at Insurance Companies a little closer (Episode 392). I'm only 15 minutes into last week's episode and they are really interesting. For example they say the evidence shows that the time when health care costs actually decreased and health care improved was when HMO's were in power (remember how much we all hated them?). As usual it's NPR's dispassionate look at things from a truly journalistic perspective.

I know this is a sticky issues for a lot of people, I'm one of them. Coming from the perspective of someone who thinks we are simply delaying the move to a single payer system, these episodes gave a me pause to think otherwise. Though I'm still convinced single payer will win out to be honest.

You can listen to them or download them on their web site

new photos

We're so busy that blogging has seriously fallen by the wayside. We got pics taken at our house and the nearby park on Sunday. Here's a sneak preview of the photos.

http://www.amysuzannephotographic.com/apps/blog/show/1924831-living-life

Some decision are so tough

It was tough for her to decide but we had a long conversation about it and Violet has finally decided where she wants to attend college.



Go Blue!!!

Bananas!

Violet started on solids last weekend. So far she's had apples, rice cereal (who knew that rice was a cereal?), and banana. Here's video of Jim feeding Violet some bananas.

disappearing car door

It's only a concept, but man if it's real it's really innovative.

Thoughts for the day

A friend sent these to me, thought you might enjoy.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized you're going in the opposite direction of where you’re supposed to be going? But instead of just turning 180° and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I’d watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f*ck was going on when I first saw it.

The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I’d already hopped on highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom. Eventually I decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I tried to walk over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way. We played that, “Both go left, Both go right” game to no avail, so I finally put out my hand to guide myself past and that's is when I realized, yup, that's a mirror I just tried to walk through - and the guy on the other side is me. Even cats can recognize their own image.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.

Whenever someone says, "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

How many times is it appropriate to say. "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in ... (10 second lapse) ...ummm ...G-Spot".

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

While driving yesterday, I saw a banana peel on the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it ... thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be much more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."

Ever notice how bad decisions make good stories?

I don't even know where my camera is. Bad parent.

At 5.5 months, Violet is working on sitting up and standing. She is a very determined little person. She can sit up, unassisted for a couple of seconds, although she can't get herself into a sitting position alone. She can also stand, hanging on to something for a few seconds. Same story - she can't pull herself to standing. She hasn't made any progress on crawling forward. She is, however, quite a pro at accidentally scooting back.

In 2 weeks she gets to start on solids. She really wants to eat now, but Jim has a ton of allergies and waiting until 6 months gives her the best chance of reducing her allergic reactions. According to her due date, she's 6 months now.

Is that cheating?

We went hiking in the Hocking Hills yesterday. Violet loves being outside. She can spend hours and hours just looking around. Bring her indoors and she can only maintain her attention span for about 10 minutes before she wants a new activiity.

In other baby news, our plan is to adopt a child in a year and a half. It takes a while to save the $ and go through the process, so we should be starting now. I'm surprised that it isn't more expensive. There are 2 nonprofits in town that charge 16k and there is an 11k federal tax credit, for a grand total of 5k. It's possible that there will be other expenses, depending on the individual sitution, but that fee includes homestudy and all other usual costs. I've talked with 2 couples who adopted from these local nonprofits and said it worked great. I need to ask the people who chose other options why they didn't go this route, just to make sure it is as easy as they all saying. If you have any insights, please share them!

Movie Reviews

Lo and behold, people did read my movie reviews. Now that I have an audience, so to speak, I'm going to start writing again. Check out new reviews for Religulous, Bill Maher's documentary on religion, and The Contract, a semi-thriller starring Morgan Freeman and John Cusack.

http://jodismovies.blogspot.com/

Darling Violet

Darling Violet, my little heart, sweetest little baby, all full of laughter and smiles, 5 months old... has started to whine.

Party over.

Recent pics

Violet sleeps with her bum in the air.

Chillin' on the back deck. Yay Jim for rebuilding it!

4 month checkup

Violet had her 4-month check up on Monday. She now weighs 14 pounds, 2 ounces which puts her in the 70 percentile for weight and is in the 80 percentile for height. She remains a champion head-grower in the 90th percentile.

The most exciting update is that she laughed for the first time yesterday. I tried to get it on film, but she clams up as soon as I break out the camera!

Cooper Clappers

It's really strange to say this but my dad sent me this Johnny Carson skit, which I thought was funny.

Latest accomplishments

Violet now sleeps like a regular baby in her crib - no longer swaddled or in her carseat! Also, she can take her pacifier in and out of her mouth. She's not totally accomplished with putting it in, often forgetting that she should let go once she's reached her goal.

She loves music and books, staring intently. Yesterday she tried to grab the pictures in the book. Didn't go so well.

This is my 4th week back to work and it's still hard to leave Violet at daycare in the morning. Knowing that I don't have a choice makes it easier. Mondays are the worst.

Baby fight!

One of the other babies in daycare accidentally scratched Violet's forehead. You should see the other guy!

Back to work!

I went back to work 2 1/2 weeks ago, which means I'm 2 weeks behind on everything - email, work, sending the baby announcements, thank you notes... It's been very overwhelming to have to be totally present for so long each day. Not to mention how early I have to get up. 6:30am is not my optimal wake-up time, 8:30 is.

With that said, I'm thrilled to be back at work. We are far behind on fundraising, mostly because I was gone, so I have a ton to do. The economy is still slow, so fundraising is going to be tougher this year. That all adds up to more work in less time in order to make our budget. If you ever wanted to give to an environmental advocacy group, now is the time! www.theOEC.org.

Violet is growing like a weed. She turned over for the first time last week. At 3 1/2 months Violet can roll both from back to front and front to back. Take your eyes off her for a moment and she's in a totally different position than when you last saw her. Sometimes when she gets on her belly she gets a little frustrated, which you'll see in the video below.

She's all smiles all of the time. One of the daycare staff said she's one of the happiest babies she's ever seen. We're starting to put away the newborn props (bouncy seat and swing) in favor of more interactive games like the play gym, pack & play, and stuffed toys. She's also starting to teethe. You can't see teeth yet, but she's constantly knawing, drools a bit, and is a bit stuffy.

She has adjusted well to daycare. I miss her all day long, but she is getting a lot of attention and a wide variety of experiences. Each week a guitarist plays and sings for the babies, she gets outside nearly every day, they have TONS of toys, and lots of staff.

Finally, I just got to drop $350 on a new pump. Apparently the one that I had isn't made to last very long. Since I got it from someone else (the manufacturer said this was OK), it had burned out. Now I'm hands free. The whole get-up is rediculous, I look like I should be in a 1950's ad. I'm more worried that a co-worker will walk in and see what I'm wearing than see me exposed. Such is life.

Cankles

Recent baby photos

2009

Take the "How Well Do You Know Jodi Segal Quiz" on Facebook

http://apps.facebook.com/quizdoyouknowme/quiz.jsp?q=6361351

Look what we found! Want him?

Tiny hiney

Our sweet baby slept for 11 hours last night. She loves us!

Violet chooses some interesting positions to sleep in...

She's a big smiler now!

Here's the beautiful retaining wall that Jim built.

Santa Barbara on fire

Santa Barbara is in manditory evacuation mode. Only a few dozen homes have burned so far, but the town is seriously threatened. Manditory evacuation is ordered just a couple of blocks from where we lived. http://www.keyt.com/ for pics and updates. Currently, it's 0% contained.

Violet's 2 month stats

Violet had her 2 month check up today. She was 11 pounds 9.5 ounces, which is 75th percentile, height was 23 1/2 inches, which is 85th percentile, and head circumference was 16 inches, which is 90th percentile. She's grown 3 pounds and 3 inches since birth.

So, basically all of her weight is in her giant noggin!

She's holding her head pretty steady on her own, is jabbering quite a bit, smiles a ton, and seems generally happy. She's still sleeping well, although she needs to be swaddled in her car seat to get a full night's sleep.

Go, Violet, go!

Finally, we've decided to get a second car. We're buying an '04 Honda Accord with 50k miles on it. We would prefer to have a European style car, like our Saab, but the #s didn't add up since repairs are so expensive. We'll drive the Honda all of time, except when we have to cart the dog somewhere or are in need of a second vehicle, which isn't very often. We should be getting it tomorrow.

losing life

A good friend of ours (who will remain anonymous here) lost a child to a miscarriage this weekend. This is a tragedy that struck our family last august. Though I could never imagine the pain felt by my sister or my friend at this sort of lose my sympathies and thoughts remain with them in times like these. This sort of event does take me back to the realization of the how fragile our balance really is. Further we need to keep our eye on the prize and make sure our priorities really are just that.

Swing

 

This is one of Vi's favorite activities.  She just goes back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and, well, you get the idea. 

Baby gym

Violet is starting to interact with the world around her.  She responds really well to the activity mat that Aunt Kim & Uncle Scott got for her.  Thank you!

Finally, some pictures!

More recent photos to come...

V asleep and swaddled in the rocker at 5 weeks, 2 weeks ago.  Look at the cheeks!

 Grandma Carol giving Violet her 2nd bath.

 Carol's going to kill me for posting this... :)

Jim is starting to put in a low stone wall in our front yard, which will extend across the front of our neighbors' yard.  (I'm so lucky that he has energy that he loves to burn on these projects!) The white tipped post in the ground is the end of our front yard and the start of our neighbors'.  You can catch a tiny bit of our front porch on the far left.

6 week update

I guess 9 months of misery was enough and Violet is willing to be nice to us as an infant.  She slept for 7 hours straight on Saturday night and Sunday night.  My body hasn't yet adjusted to her ever-changing schedule, so I'm still getting up at about 3am to pump before she wakes a couple of hours later.  I'm still tired, but it's not that bad.

V now can smile, coo, and is starting to interact.  We had a conversation on Friday for a few minutes, which was a lot of fun.  We've also figured out the bath.  It turns out that she prefers warm water over kinda warm.

Violet weighs in at 11 pounds, which is 25% more than she weighed at birth.  I feel great, have only 13 pounds of baby weight left to lose (plus 5 more to get to my goal weight), and have all of my old energy back.

Plumbing

We're back in our house.  The good news is that it was about 1/2 to 1/3 as expensive to fix as we expected.  The bad, or rather odd, news is that the problem ended up being in the FRONT of the house.  Apparently the pipe that the plumber found in the back went nowhere.  That's why the camera and snake hit a block and Jim dismantled the deck.  The real problem was solved by a quick snake in the front yard...  Maddy has gotten good at jumping in and out of our back door. Again, I promise to take a picture and post it.

updates

Last week, a sewage pipe collapsed on our property. So, we have no water in our house. Jim's still working from home, but we are spending a lot of time at his parents' house, which is just 2 miles away from us. There's a possibility that it will be fixed tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath.

Also last week Violet began smiling and sleeping longer at night. She's developing like a baby 2 weeks older than her, which makes sense since she was 2 weeks late. She's had a few shifts of 5 hours between feedings and typically has at least 4 hours once per day. Since our sleeping arrangements have changed, I've gotten determined to get V to sleep in a crib. It's been working, with help from infant anti-gas drops.

Finally, I've given up on the cloth diapers. I'm sad to do it, but using them means V is wet and a little red all of the time. Newborns pee 20 times a day and the cloth diapers don't keep the wetness away from her skin. When I change her, she's wet and therefore cold, so screaming session ensues.

It's a relief that I'm starting to get a little more sleep and that she's becoming more interactive. Parenting is starting to become a little more rewarding.

I've been taking pics and video and will post them when I have a little more time.

Segal photos

Grandma Segal with baby Violet and our nephew Adam.

My sister-in-law, Kim, holding Violet at 2 weeks.

Us with nephews Zach & Adam. Adam no longer smiles for the camera...

Cousins, all in a row.

Thanks for taking the pics, Kim!

Boob tube

I spend half of my waking hours holding the baby, leaving me plenty of opportunity to stare into space.  Not having cable or TV reception, I haven't watched much television in a long time.  Put these 2 ingredients together and add free online episodes via hulu.com and I'm now watching a good bit of TV.  Here's what I've been enjoying.  Please let me know if there is something brilliant that I'm missing.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - witty comedy starring Danny DeVito

Californication - who knew that David Duchovny could act?  Very well written and executed

House - always waiting for the next episode of this formulaic yet entertaining hospital show

30 Rock - gotta love that Tina Fey

Arrested Development - amusing in its idiocy

Other favorites that I have watched via blockbuster and highly recommend:

Dexter - watch out, this is very gory!

Carnivale (season 1 only)

Weeds (season 3 is a bit weak, but picks up again in 4) - adult humor in every way

Six Feet Under (earlier seasons are better)

Entourage

Freaks & Geeks  - probably best enjoyed by my generation since it's set in high school in the 80s

Intake and outflow

My life now revolves around bodily fluids.  All of them.  In and out.  So when one of the fluids isn't flowing, I start to wonder.  Now I know that it's not completely abnormal for a very small human to go an entire week without pooping.  A little help from the pediatrician proves that all of her functions do indeed work and she can be inspired to take action.  

I guess you learn something new every day.

Baby Violet on Saturday, being held by my co-worker, Jen.

Overachiever

Violet had her 2 week doctor appointment on Wednesday. The big milestone goal was for the baby to be back at her birthweight. Lo and behold, she's nearly a pound heavier at 9 pounds 9 ounces.

Violet's umbilical cord stump fell off, so she now has a belly button!

Here's Violet's first video, taken on our new camera.

today's pics

And people were worried that Maddy would be jealous and neglected. She's still spoiled rotten.



I've become a piece of furniture.

A benefit of working from home.

Week 1

Grandma Carol holding Violet on her first day home from the hospital.

On day 5 Violet began sleeping in her crib and on the changing table. Up until then she wouldn't sleep unless someone was holding her. We are very grateful to be able to get lot more sleep already. She's been such an easy baby so far. I wonder if she'll become more difficult over the next few weeks when she's fully out of her haze.

Batman has claimed his new favorite spot.

Houdini has escaped from the baby straight-jacket. This thing is super velcroed. I don't think I'd be able to get out of this on my own. I'm hoping that I accidentally didn't fasten her in properly. If not, we're in for real trouble.

Fat baby

We saw the pediatrician today. Yes, on Sunday. (This is an awesome practice!) She's already gained an ounce since leaving the hospital. She's an overachiever like her perfectly brilliant mother, if I do say so myself. So far Violet has passed every single test that she's faced.

Great discovery of the day, she is quiet in the sling. Up until now, in her very long experience, she needed to be held all the time. Now we can put her in the sling and do dishes (Jim), take out the trash (Jim), read (Jim), talk on the phone (Jim again), and sleep (Jodi).

Baby Violet

Here she is! Baby Violet was born on Wednesday, March 4th at 8am. She weighed in at 8 pounds 12.7 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. Labor was very long at 23 hours including 2.5 hours of pushing. Call if you want the gory details... Here's a photo from day 2, March 5th.

We are all well, catching up on sleep, and recovering from our very big day!

Techmology

You may remember a little HBO show called "Da Ali G Show" which was the genesis of his Borat character. He pulled the same stunt on a former co-worker of mine from PIRG, Jeremiah, who is featured in this clip. He's the young guy with the look of complete disbelief throughout the interview.

Ali G Science Roundtable - watch more funny videos

no baby update

You may have noticed that we don't have a baby. We noticed that, too. We're one week past the "due date." I now believe that doctors shouldn't give you an actual date. Full term is anything from 37 weeks to 42 weeks. First time births are typically 7-9 days past the due date. Then why in the world do you get a due date that is a full week before they actually expect the baby to arrive?

So, we wait. No, we don't have plans to induce any time soon. We will only do that if it becomes medically necessary. We haven't seen any signs that this is currently the case - her heartbeat is strong and I'm healthy and feeling well.

I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions for 2 weeks and every day they are just a tiny bit different. (BH contractions are abdominal tightening that don't lead to labor, but typically increase as you approach labor) Signs point towards progressing to labor, but there's no way to predict when the big event will commence.

More news and pics as soon as we have any!

Adam's work

My long time friend Adam put together a video of his work, it's available on YouTube

Baby time?

Just a little update - I'm due on Tuesday, but the doctor (and Jim and I) think I'll be about a week late. And here I thought Friday would be my last day at work!

I love Ellen

Poop scoop

I was so excited about the diaper service. Well, it's going out of business. Big bummer. The owner said it's considered a luxery. I thought disposables were the luxery.

The good news is that she explained step-by-step how we can wash our own cloth diapers and it's very easy. All you have to do is dump the diapers in the laundry every other day, run them on cold rinse with no detergent, then run them on hot with detergent. It's OK to add white vinegar, oxybleach, or borax to help keep them white. Hang them in the sun to really bleach them.

The better news is that it doesn't sound disgusting or very difficult. So, we're going to give it a shot; at least while she's exclusivey breast-fed. After that it gets a little bit grosser. It's definitely a lot cheaper, especially since we have a front-loading high efficiency washer that doesn't use that much water and gets everything super dry before it heads for the dryer.

Hospital pick

Today I decided on a hospital for delivery. We had 2 choices - Riverside or Dublin - because they are both associated with my doctor. We planned to go to Riverside because it's a little closer and we were impressed with the place when Susie delivered there. However, Dublin opened just a year ago and people kept getting a glazed over look in their eye when describing it. One friend said, "Go to the glory." So, we decided to check it out.

We had a tour scheduled for Tuesday, but a blizzard started and the telephone receptionist said we could come on Saturday, so we decided not to then. I called back to reschedule and was informed that the tour was full and I couldn't go. The only obvious solution was to crash the tour, which I did.

The place is really small, it's bright, quiet, and comfortable. They have sleeper sofas in every room, and your primary care in maternity is done by a nurse-midwife. The labor & delivery rooms are a little bigger and nicer than the average patient room shown in the virtual tour video. Gone are the days of shared, cramped rooms!

Gooooaaaallll!

I was so bummed to have missed a fundraising goal for the first time. I kept telling myself that it wasn't that big of a deal. We got 99% of the goal, it's still an increase over 2007, the economy sucks... but I was still very bummed.

On Tuesday I found a missed entry in our fundraising database. So, you guessed it, we made the goal! Now I have to hope that there aren't other errors that push it back the other way, which I dreamt happened last night. I have less than a $500 buffer.

2009 isn't going to be easy, either, but I'm stubborn so charging ahead full steam.

New pics as promised

Hot times

So, we need a new furnace. It turns out that the old furnace, which we just tuned up and paid boucoup bucks to repair, is ruining the bricks in our house. It's venting through the chimney, cooling on it's way up, and then condensing moisture on the bricks. As a result, they are literally crumbling. This mostly happens on the second floor which is, you guessed it, the baby's room. So, we have to replace the furnace ASAP. The good news is that our new, more efficient furnace will pay for itself in efficiencies over a period of 4 years. We might be able to recoupe a little bit of the cost by selling the old one, since it still works perfectly well.

By the way, I'm 3 weeks and 2 days from d-day, which means 2 days from "full term." Pics to come soon.

Farewell humor

1 month left

My due date is less than a month away, on February 17th. First time births are typically 9 days late, so have a pretty wide window of when to expect the kid. Today we interviewed our first, and fortunately our last, pediatrician. He was perfect so we need to look no further. He's honest, straight-forward, listens, educates his patients, doesn't act like he knows all of the answers, has opinions, knows and likes my obstetrician (who I love), and comes highly recommended by someone I trust. What more do you need?

He answered our critical newborn questions, so I now feel like we're ready for the little one.

Jim and company (thank you Adam, Stacey, Chris, and Carol!) just finished repainting our house, so it no longer looks like a circus tent. We'll post pics once we have the furniture moved back to the walls.

A love song

The things no one tells you about pregnancy

When mothers talk about pregnancy to women who are expecting or contemplating getting pregnant they tend to use terms like magical, wonderful, instinctual. For some reason when people talk in public about pregnancy they neglect to mention a few minor details about the 9 months before the birth. Mind you what I'm talking about here is not the actual birth but gestation.

So here goes:

1.) Morning sickness is a total misnomer, it's not restricted to morning. Further it's not limited to vomiting, it entails the whole body experience.

2.) As it turns out your arms do not grow with your belly hence you will struggle to complete basic tasks when your belly is an extra foot further out. (i.e. you cannot reach the sink, try squeezing into a tight bathroom stall).

3.)You will need two extra sets of clothes (maternity clothes). You need one set for the first couple of months when you are only slightly larger and then another for when you are really big.

4.)Okay now lets talk about sleeping. First you have to get up every couple hours to use the toilet (much less room for your organs in there). What people neglect to mention is the hip pain. You will be shocked to learn that when your hips are spreading out (a natural process when you are preparing to give birth) you will have hip pain. Further, what may not be so obvious is this will cause you a ton of discomfort when you sleep at night. You need to turn over every hour or so. Turning over when you have another human in your belly turns out to be quite a process. You have to move your body pillows, your partner, the family pets, and then you get to try to fall back asleep.

5.) No one tells you about stretching the perenium, enough said!

6.) Everyone has experienced late night lag cramps. Now imagine trying to jump out of bed in the middle of the night when you are 30 lbs heavier.

Seriously I have no idea how single moms do it! And I'm even the pregnant one!

Unlce jay explains the news

Reverend Jim

So at age 35 I have finally entered the world of alphabet soup. Though unlike most who have earned the right to put an acronym behind their name I simply had to click a button on a web page. As of a month ago I became a reverend with the Universal Church of Life. I joined the ranks of the clergy in order to marry one of my closet friends. Last weekend I spent the weekend in NYC performing the marriage of my good friends Molly Findlay and Steve Perez. An act I could not have been more nervous for. If it wasn't for the ceremony being broken up by readings my shaking hands might have made the balcony we were standing on vibrate.

The ceremony was quite fun at the end of the day, not to mention it was my first public speaking gig since working on Das's failed County Supervisor campaign. I always like public speaking, and I have to admit given the opportunity I would do another ceremony. I wonder if it would be as fun if I didn't know the bride and groom for more than 5 years?

Molly and Steve deserve a lot of props for pulling this wedding off on short notice. The combination of Steve taking forever to propose and an unexpected terminal illness in their family they only had 2 months to put the wedding together (Can you imagine!). The ceremony was held at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe at 126 Crosby St on the Lower East Side (I may have neighborhood wrong?), a store which donates 100% of it's profits to AIDS research. Other than the Jagermeister at the Bachelor/Bahelorette party everything went smoothly.

Shipwrecks

This is where we used to go surfing every spring (haven't been in a few years)

The name game

Since holiday and baby season are upon us, I thought I'd take a moment to answer the various name questions that have come up recently.

My name is still Jodi Segal. I did not change it when we got married. Jim is also still Jim Taylor. If you want to address a formal letter, I recommend Mr. Jim Taylor and Ms. Jodi Segal.

The baby will take Jim's last name. Segal will be her middle name. So, her full name will be Violet Segal Taylor. It's not likely, but still possible, that she is actually a he. In that case, we'll have to come up with something beside Violet pretty quickly!

Bathroom Ceiling

After 6 months of carefully tiptoeing on ceiling joists, Jim finally put his foot through the brand new bathroom ceiling...

Now it matches the new downstairs hallway ceiling. We had to hire an electrician to fix a boo boo and he ended up cutting a hole in the ceiling that we actually paid someone to replace.

At least you can see the newly refinished wood frames around the windows. The kitchen will have the same wood around the 1 window and 4 doors. What you can't see very well is that the primer didn't stick to the walls, so the pait is peeling off in big chunks.

29 weeks down, 11 to go

I made Jim take a couple of photos, so I wouldn't have crazy person hair like the previous pic!

Maddyisms

You can frequently find our 60 pound dog barking and growling at her basket of toys. For some reason she is afraid of the basket and afraid of the air return next to the basket. If you move the basket or dump out the toys, then she digs through them until she finds what she wants and goes about her merry way. I can't imagine what is going through her head!

Her other amusing habit these days is sticking her head in the corner by the kitchen sink in hopes that food will appear there. It doesn't matter if we are doing dishes, preparing food, or just standing around. If we are near that spot, her face is buried in the corner.

The Great Flydidni

Santa Barbara on fire

Huge forest fire rages in Santa Barbara and Montecito.

100 houses burned so far and 5,400 people evacuated.  We know a couple of people who have lost their homes.  As far as we know, none of our friends have lost their homes yet.

Edit:
As it turns out at least one friend's house burnt down, Jeremy Lindaman lost his entire house. This photo was on the cover of the New York Times.

And then there were 3

Today is a very sad day at the Segal-Taylor household. Today we lost Kitty. He was 16 years old. He was born in either Massachusetts or Rhode Island, I can't remember. Either way, he ended up living in both states. I got him in November 1996 in Boston. We moved to California in 1999 where we were joined by Sweetie. The two of them were my companions through the divorce. Jim & I doped up the cats for a week and drove them, with our moms, to Ohio two years ago. Maddy came along last August and then we got Batman in June to perk up Kitty. We thought that a kitten would give him something to keep him busy, which it did.

He had the same looks and personality as Garfield - fat orange tabby, surly, pushy, and lovable. Just this morning he was trying to claim my breakfast as his own.

He had lost more two-thirds of his body weight, so the kindest thing we could do for him was to put him down. The vet said that there's no way that he's not in pain. It's just like an adult human weighing 60 pounds.

This picture was taken in March. Sweetie is on the left and Kitty is on the right. They are enjoying their second favorite activity, after food, which is laying on the heat register.

I miss you already, Kitty.

Daycare

We registered for daycare this week at a place called Little Dreamers, Big Believers.  We toured 3 diferent places and knew as soon as we walked in that this was the place for us.

They are very small and have 3 infants per teacher.  They teach baby yoga, baby sign language, feed organic food, and seem to really engage with the kids in a personal way that wasn't apparent at the other sites.

Being a small facility they are more flexible to tailor the care to the child than the corporate chains or larger places.   For example, we asked about cloth diapers at the first place and they said that they require disposables.  The second place said they can do it, but really, really don't want to because it's a big hassle.  This place said, half of our kids use cloth. It's easy - all we have to do is have a separate pail and the parents take them home.  Woo hoo!

Election

It's no secret that I'm an Obama supporter, so you can imagine that I'm quite happy that he was elected.  It will probably sink in after he's been in office for a year or two.

However, that's tempered by a few points:

1) He's a politician and I don't trust them as far as I can throw them.  I hope he will do as he says.  I'm a bigger fan of "primary Obama" than I am "general election Obama," so I hope he follows his original ideals instead of becoming a sell-out.

2) I don't agree with everything he believes, but think he is the best choice we have seen in a long time.  His position on equal marriage, the environment, and separation of church & state have a way to go for my taste.

Finally, I'm deeply saddened by the propositions that passed in a couple of states, namely Prop 8 in California which amends the constitution to limit the rights of adults to marry.  It's a sad day when our civil liberties are curtailed based on demographics.

Latest from SNL

McCain is a natural on SNL.  Maybe he should join the cast? :)

Carly - is this better?

Finally - pregnant pictures!

Finally, two pictures of me pregnant. I'm 5 months right now. Sorry for the camouflage, it doesn't really do it justice. I'll work on some more.

Debate spoof

This is one of the funniest SNL skit I've ever. I literaly hurt laughing. It's probably only hilarious to those of us who suffered through the last debate.

Domestic goddess

I've recent discovered a few products that nobody should have to live without. I thought I'd share the good word.

First is the Shark Steam Mop. This hand-dandy little tool steam cleans your floors. That means you don't have to buy any toxic, smelly, weird stuff. The only down side is that the terrycloths that do the cleaning get dirty pretty quickly before they need to be thrown in the laundry. Maybe if I mopped more frequently this wouldn't be an issue... Buy it at Bed, Bath, & Beyond.

Next is Melaleuca’s Healthy Dish Washing Detergent. You have to special order this stuff from an Amway type person (or maybe online?). We've seriously been using the same regular sized bottle since early May. That includes using it to wash hands. It's non-toxic, biodegradable, etc.

Finally, also from BBB is Cuisinart Green Gourmet nonstick pan. This nonstick pan is made from enamel, not from Teflon. So it's actually non-toxic. If you didn't know, Teflon and other nonstick surfaces are carcinogenic. Birds literally drop dead if you have this stuff in your home and most people aren't disciplined enough to avoid using metal cutlery on the pans to prevent major scratching or to throw them out after signs of peeling. Jim has been making us eggs every morning on the Cuisinart pans and they are turning out great. Be sure to add a little butter anyway or your eggs will taste a bit rubbery. Nobody likes rubbery eggs.

How big am I?

We still need to get some photos of me, but to give you an idea, people are surprised when I tell them how far along I am. The lady at Giant Eagle today said she didn't think I'd be able to stand up at 8 months...

I did gain quite a bit of weight last month, but I'm not sure where it's going. I don't look fatter and the baby weighs less than a pound. Maybe I'm growing a big cushion in preparation for a giant child?

On the other hand, being petite and having an arched back probably makes me look bigger than I am. The nurse at my doctor's office nailed it at 20 weeks just by looking at me, which seems like a better gauge than the deli lady!

The Great Schlep

Sarah Silverman in all her glory. Be forewarned, she's got a potty mouth.

I figure that I can at least post a muted version of my perspecive on the election with humor without getting in too much trouble.

It's a Girl!

The big round blob on the left is her head. The big round blob on the right is her body. The small circles between the round blobs are her hands. On her head you can make out eye sockets and her chin.

The tech who did the ultrasound says she has long legs and is very active. She weighs just less than a pound and is still due mid-February.

Finally, I can feel her moving around now! I have a feeling that I'm growing a kickboxer!

Penis day!

Tomorrow, October 2nd, is the day that we hopefully find out if our baby is a boy or a girl. We're calling it "penis day" because at this stage in the game we are looking for the existence or absence of a penis. Hopefully the baby will be in a position where we will be able to tell.

More people are guessing it's going to be a boy. I think it's a boy, and Jim think it's a girl. Who is going to be right???

Jon Stewart on the bailout

Why I'm proud to be a professional community organizer

Raising money for grassroots organizations isn't glamorous, but I'm proud to be in the same profession as these folks.

Oh, and a little political commentary :)

Pregnancy Update

On October 2nd we get our second ultrasound. Hopefully we'll be able to tell the baby's sex at that time. We already have a girl name picked out and have a good candidate for a boy name.

Thanks to many friends, we have a ton of baby stuff and maternity clothes! Thank you so much to Meadow & Jody, Kelley, Michelle, Rachel, Susie, and Mrs. Guervitz for all of the stuff we have so far. Many friends with young 'uns have offered additional stuff once we know the sex or their kids are done with them. Please keep your eye out for a maternity winter coat. I haven't seen one yet.

Things have been going really well for the last month. I eat constantly to keep my blood sugar steady. That keeps me functioning pretty much like a normal person. I'm big enough now that people are comfortable saying "Your're pregnant!" instead of just looking me up and down and wondering. Lucky for me that the weight so far has been all baby. Hopefully it will stay that way!

SNL hilarity

Two gems from Tina Fey.

16 Weeks

First, the generic update on pregnancy at 16 weeks.

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length . Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too.

Personally, the last few days have been much better than the last few weeks. My blood sugar was OUT of control. Hypoglycemia (blood sugar factor #1) is compounded by pregnancy hormones (#2), my nutritional needs have increased (#3), I'm stressed at work because of the loss of a coworker (#4) which all adds up to me wanting to hide under my desk until March. I started testing my blood sugar and found that I was mostly in the 70s and 80s when I should be in the 100-120 range. This adds up to anxiety, vertigo, exhaustion and other unfun stuff. With the help of a fabulous dietitian, I have just figured out that I was eating pretty much what I needed, with some exceptions, but only eating about HALF of what I need. No wonder I wasn't getting fat! It's possible that I'll start putting on a few extra pounds, which is fine wiht me as long as I feel better. It will come off later.

From the Onion

I have no idea why this is so funny, but it clearly is!

War On String May Be Unwinnable, Says Cat General

15 week update

I'm a total blog slacker. I'm 15 weeks pregnant tomorrow (aka about 3 months to those of you who don't speak pregnant) and this is my first entry...

First, here's a description of what's happening with the little one right now.

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position.)

Pregnancy has definitely been challenging, even though everything has been textbook so far. I had nausea from weeks 6-10 and have been very tired the whole time. At least I'm not sleeping 12 hours a day like I was a few weeks ago! Now I'm at about 9.5 hours at night, plus the occassional nap. My blood sugar has been very difficult to control, which causes a variety of different symptoms like anxiety and dizzyness. However, compared to what others go through, this has been a walk in the park.

My belly has grown enough that I'm now fully wearing maternity clothes, althoug they make me look larger than I am. They are almost all hand-me-downs, so most of them don't fit perfectly, also causing me to look a bit bigger. I see no reason to buy stuff I'll only use for a few months, so I'm happy to have all of the donations.

Wedding Photos

A bit late, but here they are. It takes a while to load, and they are out of order because they are from so many cameras, and... there are a ton.

Jodi & Jim's Wedding

JibJab

In case you haven't seen the latest JibJab video...