shokufeh is…home

Of the non-guilty variety…

Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner: I read this book last weekend after picking it up in the airport. I didn’t really pay attention to what the back said – only to having enjoyed her previous books (though reading Good in Bed in public was a bit embarassing), and to the panic of not having anything to read on the flight. I really enjoyed it, and felt it was true to new motherhood.

Johnny Clegg & Savuka’s Scatterlings of Africa album: I first fell in love with the title track almost twenty years ago when I saw Rain Man. The two things that stick out most in my mind from that movie are stepping on Aaron Neville’s foot (especially poignant since he had a song in the movie) while trying to get back to my seat at Uptown Square movie theater, and the soundtrack. The latter then became a great soundtrack to my teenage angst – I’d turn it up loud and lie in the dark on my bed. I’m falling in love with this music all over again.

Then there are the guilty pleasures…

Justin Timberlake’s My Love: I finally get the adoration. It took only about five years, and his singing in maybe his highest range yet, but I get it.

Shaggy’s It Wasn’t Me: I’ve felt guilty for the past few years liking this song, but that doesn’t stop me from getting pumped when it comes on the radio. In addition to getting embarrassed by its NC-17 nature. It sounds like such a sweet song, until you actually listen to it. And it seems to be getting more playtime lately, so I’m having to face the idea that maybe I should not be listening to it, especially with MrMan in the car.

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For as long as I can remember, whenever I was visiting elsewhere, an inevitable question was, “Why don’t you have a southern accent?” And I would explain that people in New Orleans do not have a southern accent, despite what Hollywood would have you believe. People in some parts of town have different and distinct accents, but you’d be hard pressed to find an area within the city limits sporting a southern twang. Until now, if you count our house as an area. My baby has a southern twang. It makes me smile to hear him say, “Hhaaiii!,” and Baaiii!,” accompanied by a thrust of the hand.

Other things today that made me smile, to the point that I had to leave the room to giggle, since they weren’t things he should have been doing (this is where it comes in handy to have another parent to carry out the guidance):
- his climbing on the step stool and standing up to reach things on the kitchen counter
- his wildly pursuing the rabbit around the kitchen and then pulling the rabbit’s ears: he’s gotten a lot more bold around the rabbit, so we had to cut the interaction short
- his attempts to open the rabbit cage, once we’d put the rabbit back in
- his “sweeping” the kitchen floor with his new favorite toy: the broom (no, it’s not a toy broom)

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Today, we finally had MrMan’s 12-month pediatrician visit. He is right where he should be, it seems, in terms of height, weight, and head circumference. He handled the shots (we got one of three flu shots left from last week’s delivery – score!) better than he did the indignity of having to lie on his back for part of the exam. I’m sure he wouldn’t have cried as much about the shots if he’d been allowed to sit up for them.

Now, he is asleep with Sam. Yes, it’s true, I never carried through with transitioning him out of our bed. But now we’re really ready, as our backs would probably feel better if we had a little more space, and if I weren’t contorting to feed him to avoid changing the side I’m lying on. So, we’re phasing in the changes in getting him to sleep on his own. First: making him a little less reliant on me in getting to sleep. Eventually ((fingers crossed)): asleep in his own wee bed, the same one my mother built for me 30+ years ago.

Unrelated: Thanks to Sam’s tinkering with my laptop (it was my MacBook that was having the issue, not the other stuff), I am once again connected. Yay!

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Did you know pulse is another word for legume?

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My computer is having internet issues. All last week, I was connecting via a cable plugged into my laptop. Since returning home, it can’t seem to connect, despite being able to tell me that the wireless signal is good. Anyone else ever have this problem?

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It’s Saturday night. There is laundry to be washed and toys to put away and thank yous to be written and the various and sundry that is always waiting, weighing. But I suspect that I will soon go to bed. Day one of Weekend-Reunite-with-Old-Friends went well. Wonderfully. I look forward to tomorrow, and the busy week that is coming up – it’s rare for me to have commitments, but I’ve got something happening every day or night for the next ten days. Sometimes a couple somethings.

I was just looking over at November’s calendar on the sidebar, and was surprised to see that every day is the same color, right up through yesterday (today, once I post this). I don’t know why I’m surprised, as the goal was to post every day, and I’ve done it, come sleepiness or family craziness. In some ways, it seems silly that I’ve been so obessed with making sure that I posted every day. But, it’s nice having a goal for every single day. And meeting it. I think that, once I hit December, I will continue to post with more frequency. Maybe not every day, and probably not just for the sake of posting, but this has been a good exercise. I’ve learned that I can find at least five minutes to take time out for me, to do what I want to do, even if I’m not doing it exactly the way I’d like (i.e., posting something other than what I really want to write, because of short time). I’ve learned that my family can support me in accomplishing my goals. I’ve learned that I enjoy writing more in the morning. I’ve learned that a routine is helpful. I’ve learned that what I write doesn’t have to fit neatly into compartments. I’ve reminded myself that I like making goals, and meeting them. And for this, I thank Mrs. Kennedy.

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It was a great week in Northern Virginia. I didn’t get to see everyone I wanted to see (Julia and Emmaleigh), do everything I wanted to do (take MrMan to a playround in the sunshine and tail end of the fall leaves), or shop everywhere I wanted to shop (Paper Source). But it was great. We bonded with family, relaxed, ate delicious foods, and met friends we’d never seen in person. We reached yesterday feeling like it had been too short. But now, after what seemed like a long day of travel, I’m happy to be home and looking forward to our many weekend plans – brunch with one set of out of town friends, dinner with another set, breakfast with a college friend, a Baha’i Holy Day celebration….

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I hope all of you are enjoying today.
I have so much I am thankful for:

Including this morning’s decadent breakfast of chocolate cranberry bread pudding. My mom thought we were joking last night when we said we were keeping it for ourselves instead of taking it to Thanksgiving dinner (sorry other family members, who aren’t staying in this house), but she was wrong.
Please keep in mind that all amounts below are an approximation and are calling to be toyed with.

Tear up a stale baguette and put into buttered oven-safe dish.
Mix in:
one 12-oz bag of cranberries
one 12-oz bag of semisweet chocolate chips
In mixing bowl, combine:
11 eggs (or 12, if you have a full dozen – we just happened to have 11)
2 cups of half and half
2 cups of milk
1.5 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 tablespoon of vanilla
Pour liquid mixture into baking pan, mix everything together. Cover, and let sit in fridge overnight.
Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 1 hour.

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Thanks to two of the malls of Northern Virginia, I have doubled my pants inventory. Glory be!

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When we got here on Saturday, we got a rental car at the airport and made me the designated driver. We had our choice of vehicles and picked the Pontiac Torrent. Pretty nice. However, it seems to have a magnetic bumper. Sunday evening, we headed from one relatives house to another, in two cars. I was the first to back down the driveway. As I was waiting for some street traffic to pass, I looked in front of my car, to see my uncle back up. Into me! It was gentle and no harm was done. The ironic thing was that, at the time, he’d been lecturing my cousin (his daughter) about her car. Then, Monday evening, we headed to yet another relative’s house. Again in two cars, though this time my uncle was behind me. We’re sitting at an intersection, waiting for the light to change. The light changes, we wait for the car in front of us to move. When it does, it’s into me! This was a little more jarring, as she’d put her foot on the gas, expecting to go forward. I’m kind of afraid to go anywhere this evening.

My child apparently has a certain magnetism as well. Last night, I came out of our room to find the dog in the hall and some bits of paper on the floor. I thought he’d gotten into some tissues. But then I noticed that he had one of MrMan’s dirty diapers in his mouth. I came downstairs to find another in the living room, and a third in the den. I was a bit perplexed, since I knew a poopy diaper, in an additional plastic bag had been at the top of the garbage can. I found it near the dog’s bed, thankfully intact.

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